More students wear
glasses - that was the first thing fourth-grade teacher Qu Tingting noticed
when she entered the classroom at the beginning of the new semester at Tairi
School in Shanghai's Fengxian district a month ago.
The 9-year-old students have few school homework assignments, Qu said,
and almost all of them play games on tablet computers every day.
"Digital gadgets aren't allowed during the breaks between classes,
but almost all of the children's parents told me their kids use iPads after
school," Qu said.
As more children succumb to iPad-mania, eye doctors remind parents that
the gadgets may impair youths' eye development and raise the probability of
short-sightedness.
Eye tests revealed that fourth-grade Tairi School students' eyesight
declined slightly on average since last semester, according to the head of the
school clinic, surnamed Lu.
Qu said eight of the 40 children in her class now wear glasses. There
were only four before the Spring Festival holiday in February.
Zhang Rongfang, a retiree in Shanghai, said her 5-year-old grandson is
obsessed with playing iPad games. The boy is unwilling to stop even when the
family dines together in a restaurant.
"Everyone in the family says the boy is very smart when they see
his little fingers darting here and there across the screen, but they don't
know that he spends hours playing the games at home every day," Zhang
said.
The boy's parents divorced last year and he lives with his
grandparents. To keep him from feeling lonely, his father bought him an iPad
last summer. He has been fascinated with the "almighty game player"
ever since, Zhang said.
Zhang was unaware of the damage tablet computers could do to the
kindergartner's eyes until he continuously complained about eye pain recently.
A micro blog post about a 4-year-old becoming nearsighted from playing
too much with his iPad stirred an online sensation recently - it has been
forwarded more than 26,000 times.
"Kids are fascinated with playing games, reading fairytales and
watching cartoons on iPads, but their eyes have become victims of the 'poison
Apple'", read a micro blog post updated by "weiboyougui2011" on
March 5.
Eye specialists warn parents to keep children from constantly playing
with electronic products.
IPads shine with bright colours, which is a strong visual stimulus,
said Tang Dongrun, head of the ophthalmology department at Tianjin First
Central Hospital.
"The muscle that adjusts the pupil remains highly tensed to adapt
to changes of light. And the flicker of the electronic screen intensifies the
frequent movements of the muscle," Tang said.
Moreover, children are more susceptible to eye injuries because to
their optical system is still developing, Tang said.
Zhou Wenting
China Daily
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