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Square-eyed: Overwhelming time spent on devices

12 hours and 42 minutes.

In 12 hours and 42 minutes, you can complete a full day of work, head home, have dinner, maybe watch an episode or two of your favourite TV show and fall into bed. The average Singaporean spends a staggering 12 hours and 42 minutes glued onto their digital devices daily. Globally, we spent about 1 billion years online in the year 2018.

It’s imperative for you to take care of yourself through practicing healthy device usage habits, with this amount of time spent staring at your screen. If you don’t, a whole host of potential health issues awaits, like neck pain, shoulder aches – and myopia.

Myopia is a condition where distant objects appear blurred due to the lengthening of the eye. This condition currently affects an estimated 2 billion people around the world. This number is expected to increase to 5 billion people, or half of the world’s population, by 2050. Singapore has been labelled ‘the myopia capital of the world’, with almost 80% of school children now suffering from myopia. It’s no wonder, given that 12-year-old Singaporean kids spend an average of 6.5 hours on their electronic devices daily, and not necessarily with the right habits.

Fighting the epidemic: Let’s #seepastthescreen together

Is there a way to fight this epidemic? Here’s where #seepastthescreen comes in. The campaign aims to combat this growing problem by raising awareness and showing others how to enjoy technology without harming their eyes.

Help us amplify and drive home the message that unhealthy device usage leads to myopia: Join the movement today! Here’s how to take part in #seepastthescreen:

In essence:

1. Take a photo of yourself with your device

2. Type #seepastthescreen & share it on your Facebook and/or Instagram account (remember to set it as public!)

3. Check out seepastthescreen.sg to find out more about the myopia epidemic

How you can do more.

While our campaign aims to raise awareness of the negative impacts of unhealthy device usage, it’s only the first step in the journey toward good eye care. There’s only a limit to how much technology and social media can do. Starting from home is essential in building good daily habits. Children are most vulnerable as myopia usually develops in childhood. Parents’ active involvement in essential in the prevention, and delaying the progression of myopia.

One useful method to ensure that your child is using their devices safely is through using parental control applications. With such a measure, you can rest assured that your child’s eyesight is taken care of even when you are not around.