Is reading on my smartphone going to kill my eyes?

Is reading on my smartphone going to kill my eyes?

There’s no condition called “BlackBerry blindness,” if that’s what you mean. Instead, what you should worry about is the strain on your ocular muscles. The tiny text probably causes you to hold the phone too close to your face, which inturn can cause headaches, blurredvision, and dry eyes. “Keep your phoneat least 16 to 20 inches from your face,”says James Sheedy, O.D., Ph.D., directorof the Vision Ergonomic ResearchLaboratory. “And look downward at a15-degree angle below horizontal—thiswill increase the surface area your lidscover, keeping your eyes moist andrelaxed.” Also, invest in an antiglare protectivecover like ClearTouch’s shield($13, boxwave.com), and follow the20-20-20 rule: “Every 20 minutes, lookaway for 20 seconds at something that’sat least 20 feet away from you.”