Does sitting too close to the TV ruin your eyes?
Mom was wrong. Perhaps she knew she was, but in all likelihood she thought it was true. But despite what you’ve been hearing since you were a kid, staring at the boob tube just two-inches away from the screen will not damage your eyes.
Mom was wrong. Perhaps she knew she was, but in all likelihood she thought it was true. But despite what you’ve been hearing since you were a kid, staring at the boob tube just two-inches away from the screen will not damage your eyes.
To get the truth behind the common parental warning – that sitting too close to the TV ruins your eyesight – we asked Dr. Lee Duffner, a clinical correspondent for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
His response? "It’s hogwash."
"No, you won’t cause any physical damage to your eyes" says Dr. Duffner, from his Hollywood, Florida-based practice.
He continues:
"Extensive research over the years has concluded sitting too close to a television won’t harm the eyes, but it may cause temporary eye fatigue."
Where did this rumour come from, we asked?
"Perhaps it’s tied to the fact some television sets before 1968 emitted X-rays, but today’s TVs don’t give off any dangerous radiation" confirms Duffner.
I am curious if Mr. Saltzmann even talked to Dr. Lee Duffner.
The reason I ask is because one of the quotes in this article is virtually identical to one found here: http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/11/09/does_sitting_too_close_to_the_tv_really_damage_your_eyes.htm
The other text in Saltzmann's article seems to be a little too close to this article for my comfort anyway.
I guess a phone call to Dr. Duffner would confirm.
Yes, I did talk to this doc on the phone to tell him what I was writing and then he emailed me his responses. Never saw this other article but yes, it looks like he copied and pasted much of the same answer from one piece into the other. Thanks for flagging this for me!
Marc
As we grow older, our eye's will begin to fail, and i wonder
how much I really appeciate the gift of sight, it would be really nice to be able to thread a needle without the aid of a magnifying glass.
I would not take the chance of letting my child or myself to disregard what my Mom told me, X-ray or not
That is bologna. Me and my sister both have the same mother an father. We were both taught that sitting too close causes your vision to be damaged. My sister ignored this and she now wears glasses. Her three children were not taught to stay back from the tv either and they all have glasses now. I always believed my parents and stayed back. My vision is still 20/20 and my two children were kept from sitting too close and neither of them need glasses. My wife sat close to the tv growing up and she wears glasses and her niece sat too close and she wears glasses. I could sit here and name people I know on both sides of the coin all day if I wanted to. This is not even a question, its a fact.
Mr or Ms Ball,
The trouble with anecdotal evidence is that it is selective. You have an opinion, and your memory coughs up nuggets to fit it, not serving up counter-evidence. I could list just as many folk who sat back and now need glasses (like me) and up-close types who see like hawks (like my brother). The real question is what happens on average to the greatest number of people. The answer comes from real scientific research, not granny's opinion or me counting up my friends.
My brother always sat too close and has perfect vision as he approaches 40. I didn't and have worn glasses since I was 18. Bad genes are more likely the cause than how close we sat to the TV.
Before reading this I have found it really interesting as I on a daily basis sit within an arms length of a computer screen that is about the same size as the TV I watched in the 70s. What's worth noting is that this is distance that the ergonomics gurus say is the correct distance for reading a monitor.
this is a waste of time
question:
how does the computer ruin your eyesight
can someone answer this
plzzz!!!
Bologna is one of the most amazing places in Italy!
I use an iPhone and it constantly hurts my eyes. I set the screen brightness to the lowest level which I can see but it hurts my eyes. Also a friend who constantly complains.
It feels different than sitting at arms length from a computer, or at a reasonable distance from the tv.
Trust your own experience.