Children are increasingly using gadgets, eye doctors warn of the risk of myopia that continues to increase

Illustration of a child playing a gadget. (Freepik)

JAKARTA - Children who spend hours staring at gadget screens are now commonplace. But parents need to understand, behind this habit, ophthalmologists warn of risks that are increasingly being found, namely myopia or minus eyes.

Not only the number of cases has increased, but the development of minus in children is also considered to be faster than a few years ago. This condition is a concern because myopia that is not controlled early can affect eye health until adulthood.

The Chairman of PERDAMI Jakarta, dr. Julie Dewi Barliana, Sp.M(K), M.Biomed said, the increase in myopia cases is increasingly visible, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, when children's activities are more done at home.

"If we look at it, especially after the pandemic, the incidence of myopia is increasing, in addition to increasing, the progressivity or the addition of minus from year to year is also quite a lot, quite rapid," he said when met at the Indonesia Meet The Expert 2026 (Myopia Summit 2026 Conference) in Jakarta.

According to him, heredity does play a role, but now the environmental factor is also a cause that cannot be ignored. The habit of using gadgets for a long time, high screen time, and lack of outdoor activities are suspected to contribute to the increase in myopia cases in children.

"Actually, sunlight is very important to prevent or prevent myopia and prevent its progressiveness," said dr. Julie.

Therefore, he suggested that children still have time to play outdoors at least two hours every day to get enough exposure to natural light.

Unfortunately, many new cases are known when the child's minus is high enough. Not a few new parents take their children to an ophthalmologist after receiving a report from a teacher because of difficulty seeing writing on the blackboard.

According to Dr. Julie, there are a number of signs that can actually be recognized early at home. For example, children often squint their eyes when looking at distant objects, tilt their heads when looking at something, or always get closer to the television or screen.

"So that's what parents often don't realize, so they only go to the doctor after entering school with a size that is already quite large," he explained.

The earlier myopia appears, the longer the time for the minus development that children can experience. This makes the risk of having a high minus when you grow up bigger.

In addition to reducing screen time, Dr. Julie reminded the importance of implementing healthy habits when using digital devices.

One of them is by implementing the 20-20-20 rule, which is after staring at the screen for 20 minutes, shift your gaze for 20 seconds to an object that is about 20 feet or about six meters away.

Doctor Julia explains the risk of myopia in children due to gadgets. (Dinno/VOI)

According to him, this simple step can help reduce eye strain due to prolonged screen use.

For children who already have myopia, treatment does not stop at the use of ordinary glasses. Currently, there are various approaches to slowing down the progression of minus, ranging from lifestyle changes, the use of low-dose atropine drops based on doctor's recommendations, to the development of lens technology specifically designed to help control the increase in minus.

"This does not mean that the lens is holding back at all, it is increasing but compared to without this lens, it is expected that with this lens the increase will be smaller," he said.

Many people consider the increase in minus to be a normal thing. According to dr. Julie, it is natural that the size of minus can change as the child grows, but there are still limits that need to be monitored.

"Yes, maybe roughly we can say a year should not be more than half. As much as possible we are pressing it below half," he said.

He explained that myopia occurs because the eyeball is elongated. If this condition continues until it reaches a high degree, important tissues in the back of the eye, including the retina, can be attracted and thinned.

In the long term, this condition risks causing serious complications known as pathological myopia and can interfere with visual function, even increasing the risk of blindness.

At the same time, Dr. Julie also straightened the assumptions or myths that are circulating that he said routinely eating carrots can reduce minus eyes.

Carrots do contain nutrients that the retina cells need to function optimally in capturing light. However, these benefits do not directly affect a person's minus size.

In other words, maintaining eye health is not enough to rely on certain food intake. Several steps also need to be taken, ranging from limiting the use of gadgets, increasing outdoor activities, having regular eye exams, and dealing with myopia early on remain important steps to maintain the quality of children's vision to adulthood.