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You may not realise, but we live in a world where natural light has been replaced with artificial light. A world where we’d rather stare at electronic devices than look out of the window, where we prefer to stay indoors and look at fictional landscapes rather than go outside.
Although it seems impossible, most of us spend around 11 hours every day looking at screens of one kind or another. They are now everywhere: at home, at work, in our bags and with us while we’re out and about. We eat, sleep, entertain ourselves and even interact with each other using screens. We are living in the era of Screen Pollution.
We are publicly launching the concept of Screen Pollution to publicise this issue, and highlight the damage that can be caused by excessive exposure to screens. At Multiópticas we are not opposed to progress, but we do care about your health, particularly your eye health. The first step for finding a solution lies with you, we are just here to help.
For responsible use of screens.
#ScreenPollution
effects, consequences and prevention 
Effects and Consequences
SOURCE: ASP 
7 OUT OF 10 Spanish people look at their Smartphone before going to bed
admit that they look at a screen as soon as they get up
of Spanish people admit that they look at their phone when having dinner with friends
DAYS PER YEAR IN FRONT OF A SCREEN
11 HOURS PER DAY
in front of a screen
2 OUT OF 3
Spanish people take it to the bathroom
admit that they look at a screen as soon as they get up of Spanish people admit that they look at their phone when having dinner with friends
1 OUT OF 3
children began using devices with screens before the age of 3
5 YEARS OLD
is the age at which practically half of all children begin to regularly use a device with a screen9 YEARS OLD
is the age when children get their first mobile phone3 HOURS<br/
is the amount of time 1 in 3 children spend looking at a screen
4 HOURS<br/
is the amount of time that children spend in front of a screen every day
UPWARDS OF 4 HOURS PER DAY
is the average amount of time teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 spend looking at screens every day, taking into account that not many colleges use screens in class.
But are we fully aware of the effects and consequences that this exposure can have on our eye health?
THE EXCESSIVE USE OF SCREENS CAUSES:
Furthermore, medium-term excessive use of screens and blue light can lead to very serious disorders, such as AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION and retina damage.
In one working day, Spanish people spend 11 hours looking at a screen, and 81% look at 5 or more screens throughout the day.
“This absence of outdoor activity, coupled with an excessively sedentary lifestyle can have very damaging consequences, potentially leading to disorders such as accommodative asthenopia (whose main symptoms include itchy and red eyes, as well as headaches) or progressive myopia in children, caused by such a lack of natural light”, warns Manuel Díaz Llopis, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Valencia.
46% of those under 18 spend 3 hours or more per day looking at a screen.
“This usually leads them to look for dark areas where there is not much light, which is known as the cave effect. Such a lack of exposure of the eyes to carrying out activities in natural light is directly related to the increase in myopia that we are currently seeing worldwide. Particularly in Spain, where it is estimated that in 10 years more than 80% of children under 10 years old will end up developing myopia”, advises Díaz Llopis. More than 60% of Spanish people admit that they don’t consciously blink often while looking at screens. Furthermore, more than 70% admit that they don’t take a regular break every half an hour. “This lack of blinking leads to accommodative spasms, which causes the cornea to dry out, inducing further eye strain” (Manuel Díaz Llopis)
Prevention
More than 90% of Spanish people believe that they spend a worrying amount of time or too much time in front of screens. But what can we do to avoid this?
Manuel Díaz Llopis, Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Valencia, in collaboration with the organisation Empantallados, recommends taking regular breaks in order to use screens responsibly and reduce the potential damaging consequences to eye health:
01
Evaluate your own usage
It is important to be aware of how we use screens in our daily life. Measure the amount of time you spend using them, and decide if it is appropriate. Pay particular attention to those activities that you carry out while simultaneously using screens: sometimes it is better to abandon multitasking and just focus on one activity at a time.
02
Create a personal plan for your digital usage
Most importantly, by determining what you want to use each of your devices for. Remove notifications from the home screen and decide for yourself when to look at your phone.
03
Use life hacks to help
Use various resources to measure and determine usage time and look for disconnection spaces. Some operating systems now allow you to set usage times, alarms or mechanisms to freeze devices at certain times.
04
Consciously blink regularly
05
Take short but regular breaks, looking up and focusing away from the screen.
If you have the opportunity, you should ideally look out the window or look towards an area with natural light. You should preferably take these breaks every 45 minutes. As you notice eye strain increasing throughout the day, you should take breaks more regularly.
06
Use artificial tears to lubricate your eyes, which will prevent dry eyes
07
Sit at an appropriate distance from the screen
An ideal distance would be between 35 and 50 cm for small screens (mobiles, tablets), and a minimum of 55 cm for other fixed screens.
08
If you are a parent, it is important to set a good example
Try to avoid using your phone while interacting with your children, try to limit all the activities that you have to do on your devices to a particular time in the day and create a digital plan together as a family, with rules and limits to ensure that the family uses technology in a healthy and balanced way.
09
For those under 21, when they are not at school, encourage them to only use screens when there is no daylight.
This will prevent them from using screens in dark areas and thus avoiding activities in natural light.
10
Choose one day a week for a ‘screen detox’
when all screens will be turned off, and suggest alternative leisure activities, such as getting out to enjoy nature, sports, reading, etc.
11
Add a blue light filter if you wear prescription glasses.
OUR PROTECTIVE SOLUTIONS 
74.98% of Spanish people think that they may have vision problems due to the amount of time they spend looking at screens. However, 78.44% admit that they don’t use any form of filter or screen protector on their devices, despite the fact that 79.74% believe that it would be a good idea.
admit that they don’t use any form of filter or screen protector on their devices
Believe that it would be a good ideaAt Multiópticas we care about your eye health and would like to provide you with solutions. For this reason, our lenses come with iBeslayt Tech treatment that prevents the eye strain and visual stress caused by excessive use of screens in our day to day lives, at the same time as reducing glare and improving clarity.
Categories
Other protective solutions
MÓ DIGITAL
Our reading glasses incorporate the latest technology which guarantees increased prevention and better care for your sight.
I-MULTILENS
i_multilens silicone
3 monthly disposable silicone hydrogel contact lenses for myopia/hyperopia
€30.00
imultilens monthly contact lenses for daily use are ideal for those who use digital screens, as they have a unique design and are manufactured using the latest technology which reduces the eye fatigue caused by the use of digital devices.
The silicone hydrogel that the contact lenses are made from allows more oxygen to pass through to the cornea and makes the lenses more breathable, allowing you to enjoy lenses that are healthier for your eyes.
The silicone hydrogel that the contact lenses are made from allows more oxygen to pass through to the cornea and makes the lenses more breathable, allowing you to enjoy lenses that are healthier for your eyes.
SCREEN POLLUTION 
Under-18s spend an average of 2.79 hours looking at a screen every day, a figure that far exceeds the time recommended by experts. In some age ranges this average increases to 3.29 hours (among children between 12 and 14) or even 4.49 hours (among teens between the ages 15 and 17).
Furthermore, children between 5 and 11 year spend an average of 2 hours looking at a screen every day. In many cases, mobile phones or tablets have become an indispensable part of the leisure time of the smallest children, replacing other leisure activities which are more beneficial for eye health.
For this reason, Multiópticas, in collaboration with the organisation Empantallados, is launching SCREEN POLLUTION WORKSHOPS. Practical and educational workshops at primary and secondary schools which will teach children how to use electronic devices responsibly.
Nearby centres where these workshops will be taking place:
- El Prado School (Madrid)
- Pinoalbar School (Valladolid)
If you are a primary or secondary school teacher and are interested in your school participating:
