Worldwide, on average, we spend 9 hours and 45 minutes looking at digital devices. We’re often warned about the impact of digital devices on our eyes and in recent years our eyes have come under increasing pressure due to the proliferation of technology and the fact that we tend to sit in front of screens, both big and small all day.
To investigate if there is any truth in the claim that digital devices damage eye health, we measured the percentage of device ownership and time spent on each device per day, as well as reviewed studies on the correlation between the use of digital devices and Computer Vision Syndrome / Digital Eye Strain (DES) across 40 countries to see which devices cause harm to our eyes the most.
In fact, 77% of adults say that their eyes feel strained after a long day at work and 80% of millennials using digital devices have experienced related eye fatigue. This is not surprising when data has shown that we are now spending more time glued to our screens than we do sleeping.
As we spend more time on devices, it seems we are experiencing more symptoms of poor eye health. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) / Digital Eye Strain (DES) is now recognised as a valid eye condition related to the overuse of digital screens with 90% of people who spend 3 or more hours a day at a computer, potentially affected by the condition.
The Philippines Is The Country Most Likely To Have Poor Eye Health Due To The Use of Digital Devices
Once it was clear that there is a direct correlation between the use of digital devices and Computer Vision Syndrome / Digital Eye Strain (DES), we conducted a worldwide study of 40 different countries, comparing usage rates of different devices to calculate which have the greatest impact on our eyes.
Our research found that the following 10 countries are most likely to have poor eye health as a result of the amount of time they spend every day looking at digital devices.
Top 10 Countries With the Highest Screen Time
| Rank | Country | Hours spent daily | ||||
| Using the internet – mobile phones | Using the internet – computers | Watching TV | Using a Games Console | Total usage | ||
| 1 | Philippines | 5.11 | 4.34 | 3.49 | 1.33 | 14.27 |
| 2 | Brazil | 4.41 | 4.36 | 3.51 | 1.14 | 13.42 |
| 3 | Thailand | 4.57 | 4.04 | 3.32 | 1.43 | 13.36 |
| 4 | South Africa | 4.13 | 5.09 | 3.33 | 0.53 | 13.08 |
| 5 | Mexico | 4.15 | 4.06 | 3.27 | 1.13 | 12.61 |
| 6 | Colombia | 4.49 | 4.21 | 3.30 | 0.53 | 12.53 |
| 7 | Argentina | 4.32 | 4.15 | 3.38 | 0.54 | 12.39 |
| 8 | Indonesia | 4.46 | 3.13 | 3.04 | 1.23 | 11.86 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 4.03 | 3.54 | 2.59 | 1.04 | 11.20 |
| 10 | Taiwan | 3.43 | 4.14 | 2.27 | 0.48 | 10.32 |
With over 14 hours per day spent looking at screens, the Philippines tops the list of countries with a population most at risk from digital device related eye health issues, beating the nearest country, Brazil by 45 minutes. Thailand, South Africa and Mexico all rank alongside in the top five countries who spend the most time putting their eyes under strain by staring at screens for a large proportion of their day.
Globally, Smartphones Are The Devices Impacting Our Eye Health The Most
Our research found that the devices which are impacting our eye health the most are smartphones. On average 94 percent of people, in the 40 countries we studied, own a smartphone and spend an average of 3.22 hrs per day on the device.
There are 5.2bn people using mobile phones globally and 4.54bn users of the internet worldwide. The typical user spends 40% of their waking life using the internet and around 6 hours and 43 minutes per day on the internet each day.
Mobile devices accounted for more than half the time we spent online in 2020 but most internet users still use a combination of mobiles and computers to access the internet and this accounts for nearly half of all screen time.
Average Screen Time by Device in the Top 10 Countries
| Device | Daily Average Screen Time by Device in the Top 10 Countries |
| Mobile phone | 4.31 |
| Laptop /desktop computer | 4.10 |
| Watching TV | 3.15 |
| Games console | 0.94 |
Smartphone ownership is most prolific in Malaysia, Taiwan, Russia and Poland, and daily internet usage is highest in the Philippines, Thailand and Colombia.
Our Eyes Impacted More By Laptops and Computers than Mobile Phones
Europeans spend less time on devices than their international counterparts. On average the top 10 European countries for digital device usage spend 9.01 hours looking at screens per day – this is 28% less than the top 10 countries in the rest of the world.
Romania is the European country that spends the most time overall looking at screens, followed by Poland, the UK, Italy and Ireland which all rank in the top five European countries for hours spent looking at screens.
However, it is Brits whose eyes are most likely to be impacted by game console screen time. The UK, which ranks third in Europe for time spent on all types of devices, ranks the highest in Europe for time spent looking at screens while playing games.
| Rank | Country | Hours Spent (Daily) | ||||
| Using the internet – mobile phones | Using the internet – computers | Watching TV | Using a Games Console | Total usage | ||
| 1 | Romania | 3.16 | 4.05 | 3.22 | 0.47 | 10.90 |
| 2 | Poland | 2.51 | 3.35 | 3.18 | 0.43 | 9.47 |
| 3 | UK | 2.07 | 3.21 | 3.42 | 0.57 | 9.27 |
| 4 | Italy | 2.42 | 3.18 | 3.07 | 0.49 | 9.16 |
| 5 | Ireland | 2.41 | 3.07 | 3.12 | 0.47 | 9.07 |
| 6 | Spain | 2.34 | 3.07 | 3.11 | 0.54 | 9.06 |
| 7 | Portugal | 2.45 | 3.53 | 2.38 | 0.31 | 8.67 |
| 8 | France | 1.59 | 3.09 | 3.19 | 0.56 | 8.43 |
| 9 | Austria | 2.19 | 3.06 | 2.48 | 0.32 | 8.05 |
| 10 | Denmark | 1.58 | 3.09 | 3.03 | 0.34 | 8.04 |
Interestingly, the top ten countries in Europe buck the global trend for general device usage and spend more time looking at computer/laptop screens and watching TV than they are on mobile phones.
| Device | Average Daily Hours Spent By Top 10 Countries Globally Per Device | Average Daily Hours Spent By Top 10 European Countries Per Device |
| Mobile phone | 4.31 | 2.20 |
| Laptop /desktop computer | 4.10 | 3.25 |
| Watching TV | 3.15 | 3.02 |
| Games console | 0.94 | 0.45 |
Women are More Likely To Be More Affected By Digital Eye Strain, Caused By Mobile Phones, Than Men
Women are more likely to be more affected by Digital Eye Strain (DES) caused by mobile phones than men, as women spend more time on these devices. The average woman spends 3 hours and 18 minutes on her smartphone per day, whereas the average man spends just 2 hours and 24 minutes.
This is further supported by the 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report, where respondents self-reported symptoms of DES prevalence related to eye health. The report found that 69% of females reported self-reported DES symptoms, compared to 60% of men.
Using two or more devices simultaneously increases symptoms of DES with 75% of individuals who used multiple devices simultaneously, reporting a prevalence of symptoms.
Top 10 Countries Whose Residents Eyes Are Most At Risk From Use Of Mobile Phones
| Rank | Country | Daily hours spent using the internet on mobile phones |
| 1 | Philippines | 5.11 |
| 2 | Thailand | 4.57 |
| 3 | Colombia | 4.49 |
| 4 | Indonesia | 4.46 |
| 5 | Brazil | 4.41 |
| 6 | Argentina | 4.32 |
| 7 | Mexico | 4.15 |
| 8 | Saudi Arabia | 4.14 |
| 9 | South Africa | 4.13 |
| 10 | Malaysia | 4.03 |
| Worldwide average | 3.22 | |
