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I really like when people say this about screens and never mention books at all. Can someone with some strong contextual knowledge provide ANY references actua

I really like when people say this about screens and never mention books at all. Can someone with some strong contextual knowledge provide ANY references actually linking myopia/astigmatism to reading? I would argue actually being on the street in quickly changing weather (very dry air, very humid air, extreme cold/heat) probably has a larger effect on what happens to your eyes, but even that is arguably very weak.

Aulig 5y ago
All near-work affects eyes, so books too. You can look up "near induced transient myopia" on google scholar. I'm on a slow connection, so I can't right now, sorry.
- RealityVoid 5y ago
  Ok, that's a thing, but it's right in the name, it's transient. I mean, we don't _know_ for sure what causes myopia, and it does seem there is something with our lifestyle, I am just not convinced that the obvious answer "staring at close things" is the correct one. In my experience as someone with myopia, staring at close things is a side effect of myopia, in that you need to get closed to see, and, I presume, not the thing that causes it, but a really fun confounding factor. And to @heavenlyblue - don't worry, people have been saying the same things about books as well. I remember reading "Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent" and his parents wouldn't let him read because he was short sighted, y'know, for his health. The belief that stairing at close things is causing myopia is common, but, as far as I can tell, not based on any conclusive science. It's just that recently it's more in vogue to be concerned by technology than by books, and, beside, these days, most people stare at screens and phones rather than books.
- heavenlyblue 5y ago
  I just Googled that, "The literature on nearwork-induced transient myopia (NITM) is reviewed, with NITM being defined as the short-term myopic far point shift immediately following a sustained near visual task." "Immediately following a sustained near visual task". How is that related to having consistent myopia?

Aulig 5y ago

All near-work affects eyes, so books too. You can look up "near induced transient myopia" on google scholar. I'm on a slow connection, so I can't right now, sorry.

RealityVoid 5y ago
Ok, that's a thing, but it's right in the name, it's transient. I mean, we don't _know_ for sure what causes myopia, and it does seem there is something with our lifestyle, I am just not convinced that the obvious answer "staring at close things" is the correct one. In my experience as someone with myopia, staring at close things is a side effect of myopia, in that you need to get closed to see, and, I presume, not the thing that causes it, but a really fun confounding factor. And to @heavenlyblue - don't worry, people have been saying the same things about books as well. I remember reading "Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent" and his parents wouldn't let him read because he was short sighted, y'know, for his health. The belief that stairing at close things is causing myopia is common, but, as far as I can tell, not based on any conclusive science. It's just that recently it's more in vogue to be concerned by technology than by books, and, beside, these days, most people stare at screens and phones rather than books.
heavenlyblue 5y ago
I just Googled that, "The literature on nearwork-induced transient myopia (NITM) is reviewed, with NITM being defined as the short-term myopic far point shift immediately following a sustained near visual task." "Immediately following a sustained near visual task". How is that related to having consistent myopia?