I think we'll all agree that there have been nearly a viral growth of the number of individuals who text. When I asked one of my patients who was of high school age what percentage of his classmates text, he stated, "100%."

When you look at individuals texting, the distance they're holding the phone is about 8"-10". I believe if this is done frequently over a long period of time, there could be the same effect as individuals who sit in front of monitors. Regarding this group, I have seen vision changes over the years from viewing a monitor, especially if the patient never did much close-up work previously and had clear distance vision. The changes include headaches, visual fatigue and blurred vision.

It's interesting to note that there have been reported cases of carpal tunnel syndrome with excessive texting. If individuals are doing this much texting, what effect is it having on one's vision?