A case study of digital eye strain in a university student population during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa: evidence of an emerging public health issue

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a nationwide lockdown in South Africa, initiating a shift in society’s interaction to the online space. Students therefore became reliant on electronic devices for learning. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of digital eye strain (DES) in a university student population during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa. METHODS: Randomly sampled 290 university students were surveyed online about their screen time and DES during lockdown. The survey included a validated screen time questionnaire to measure screen time in hours per day and a validated computer vision syndrome questionnaire (CVS-Q) to measure the frequency and intensity of symptoms during edevice use (s). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze CVS-Q scores and screen time. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the sample was 21.04 _ 2.32 years. Of these, 82.41% used smartphone devices and 55.52% of the participants did not use any optical correction. The prevalence of DES during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 was 64.24%. Screen time on an average weekday and over the weekend, as a primary activity, had a median of 13 hours per day during lockdown. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of digital eye strain may be a harbinger of a decrease in student performance. Creating awareness of proper visual hygiene amongst students is paramount in decreasing the high prevalence of DES.