} FEATURE
Pediatric Myopia: an Epidemic? by Paul F. Vandiver, OD
Things have changed since I was a kid. We played outside till dark, explored in the woods, got dirty, built forts, watched the occasional “after school specials” and who could forget the cartoon Saturdays. Today kids have visual stimulating gadgets everywhere. Of course, we had the Atari, Nintendo and its Game Boy in the 90s, paving the way to the XBOX, Playstation and others. But its a different world today for sure – driven by handheld devices that are constantly drawing attention from most every kid, whether in restaurants or a big box store keeping Johnny hypnotized while mommy or daddy gets the shopping done. Is the “technogadget, information at your fingertips world” we live in today effecting our youngsters eyes? I would say absolutely, and the evidence is in the research. 40
Inside Medicine | Late Summer Issue 2018
