Do ebook readers damage your eyes?

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Abc3000
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Re: Do ebook readers damage your eyes?

Post by Abc3000 »

I find my Sony ereader to be the most gentle on my eyes. I also try to take regular breaks to re-focus.

-- 13 Mar 2015, 09:55 --

It depends on the brightness of the screen.
bettyk
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Post by bettyk »

E-ink ereaders are easy on the eyes. Reading on my Kindle doesn't hurt my eyes.
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katydidnt
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Post by katydidnt »

One of the things I enjoy about reading electronically is that I can adjust the font size or lighting to give me the most confortable reading conditions. I doubt that e-ink style readers would hurt anyones eyes but I have to wonder about what staring at my tablet for hours on end might be doing.

I'll let you know if I smell smoke. Might be time for a break!
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cindo625
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Post by cindo625 »

Do ebook readers damage your eyes? Well I'm no expert, but I'm on my desktop anyway from 10 to 20 hours a day. (I'm being serious of how long I'm in front of a computer screen.) I have heard on shows like the Doctors, that you can strain your sight from too much computer time. As far as E-readers go, I feel that just like a desktop, laptop, and smartphone, you can strain you eyes from prolong use. The one thing I have noticed though is that E-readers tend to have high setting when they are first turned on. I had to adjust the light on my Toshiba tablet. I started reading a book and after a few minutes, the light was just to bright to handle. I adjust the light and it was a more enjoyable read. One thing I will note is that if you have floaters in your vision, where you see like black spots or strands, by dimming the light on your E-reader you will be able to notice them less. I have the issue of floaters in my vision and I just dim the light and that really helps me. In the end if we abuse something, it will eventually harm us. So I guess I need less screen time. LOL
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kriver
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Post by kriver »

I am thinking of getting one of these an Apple or Kendle what do you guys recommend which kind is best to buy they ar the same price as a laptop which would be better?
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Post by Amaya »

Unfortunately my eyes never bothered me until I started using an e-reader (kindle) even with the brightness all the way down on minimum. Thinking about trying out an e-ink e-reader later.
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Post by aanya_9 »

Being an avid reader, I am constantly reading something. So when these ebook readers were introduced, I couldn't stop myself. I was constantly reading ebooks for long durations. And now, I've reading glasses. My doctor says spending too much time, without breaks, on digital equipments dries your eyes. So, to say the least, I am paving my way back to paperbooks.
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Post by Cee-Jay Aurinko »

I read Scott's reply and I basically agree with him. But this doesn't mean I'll stop using my smartphone to read. It's too convenient and nothing bad is happening to my eyes (I hope).
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Post by afg1415 »

If you have either of the older versions of the kindle or nook where the screen was supposed to mimic paper then there will be no damage to your eyes other than the same strain you'd receive from reading a paper book; but with the newer e-readers having the same type of screen as a computer, then staring at those lights for hours at a time can do damage to your eyes.
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Post by zanderlyrose »

I am sure it may vary by person. I read all the time on my kindle and it hasn't ever given me eyestrain. Reading from a computer screen for long periods gives me a headache.
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Post by Wreade1872 »

What you should have asked is does READING damage your eyes and the answer is yes.
(The following is purely my own thoughts and may not be supported by actual medical evidence :). )
Long Sight isn't genetic its purely environmental as a result of reading. If cavemen ever had Long Sight it it would have been evolved out a long time ago.
Technically speaking this isn't actually damage, its simply that humans weren't evolved to read so it puts a lot of strain on the eyes, if children read too much and in poor lighting conditions the eyes adjust there sighting length to help take the strain.
In other words Long Sight simply means the eyes have prioritized closer vision, they're not damaged they are simply adapted.

As i said this isn't genetic but is often mistakenly believed to be due to the fact that if your parents wear glasses odds are you will too. That certainly seems inherited bad eyesight right ;) ? But no, the reason for this is that there are two types of people, introverts and extroverts, readers are introverts and introversion is an inherited trait.
So your parents wear glasses because they are introverts and read too much as children damaging their eyes. You inherit their introversion, you read too much, you also end up with glasses.

There are too factors which strain the eyes and cause them to adapt to prioritize short vision.
1. The amount of light being reflected into the eyes.
2. The size of the Font.

A normal white paper book reflects a considerable amount of light into the eyes and also tends to have a fairly small font.
Backlit devices shine even more light into the eyes and are therefore worse for the eyes although increasing the font size might compensate somewhat for that.
The best reading device therefore would be a non-white, non-backlit, ereader with a large font size.

Note: Theoretically if you don't want a child to end up with Long Vision it MIGHT be possible to counteract the eyes adaptation for reading by exercising them sufficiently in the opposite direction.
In other words make the child play some sport which requires a lot of long sight. Archery maybe, or golf, shooting, birdwatching possibly, bowling, baseball, kite-flying you get the idea.
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Post by Thesaurus Rex »

Yes. Throw them all away and have a technology revolution!
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Post by Jojowrites4All »

I have an older Kindle which is easy on my eyes. I have no desire to upgrade.
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Post by mystery lady »

I agree about lowering the brightness on my Kindle. I have been reading with an e-reader for over 2 years and have no vision loss. I love my e-reader because our local library can not possibly supply all the books I want to read. I like reading at night using my Kindle with the overhead light off. There are many advantages to the e-reader.
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Post by AKBookAddict »

This is a great question. I have never looked up studies on this but do have my own personal opinion of your willing to listen.

I believe the answer is yes, but not so drastically it outweighs the benefits depending on how much you read. For me I work in front of a computer all day long and the most days come home and read on my Nook. This puts a lot of strain on my eyes.

From visits to the eye doctor I have found I have developed severe dry eye and from looking at something so close so often can hurt your feild of vision as well - but that can be with or without computers.

I'm not sure how computer light affects your eyes but my eye doctor put a special film in my reading glasses to cut out glare and I can say that has prevented so many headaches for me. :)

I know I like to read A LOT!! so when my husband wants to go to bed early it's nice for him to be able to turn off the lights and for me to be able to still read.

Also - on Nooks at least - you can change the color of your pages; black, brown, tan, off-white and white. You can also change your brightness. These help adjust reading to each individual person.

I hope this helps! :)
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