From evolution to digital revolution

THE EYE GAVE Charles Darwin "a cold shudder". Writing in The Origin of Species, he struggled to explain how natural selection could create something so intricate. Over millions of years, our eyes evolved exquisitely. They adapted to function in natural light, their view constantly varying as our ancestors moved, gathering food and hunting, their blink rates perfectly adjusted to protect and nourish the eye. Today, the eyes are under unprecedented assault, their evolution utterly outpaced by technological change.

- S RAMADORAI

Earlier this month, I attended an event where Sankara Nethralaya and the Optometry Confederation of India launched guidelines on improving visual health in the digital age. Distinguished ophthalmologists, including Dr TS Surendran, chairman, Sankara Nethralaya and Dr PP Santanam, renowned as the father of occupational optometry, were present at the event.

These guidelines address the growing concern about Digital Eye Strain (DES), which experts call a silent pandemic. The American Optometric Association defines DES as a group of eye and vision-related problems resulting from prolonged use of digital devices, which cause increased stress to near vision and damage long-term eye health. The statistics are stark: 69% of Indian adults and 50% of children suffer from this condition.

In 1978, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor Michael Dertouzos, head of the Laboratory for Computer Science, gathered leading computer scientists to brainstorm how to keep computers busy. Less than five decades later, the tables have turned dramatically. Computers are not just busy; they keep us perpetually engaged, often to the point of obsession. The fourth industrial revolution has ushered in an era of sweeping digitization, transforming every facet of our lives. From manufacturing and healthcare to education and entertainment, screens have become indispensable.

Our workdays often chain us to computers, our eyes glued to glowing screens. Evenings offer no escape, as we succumb to the allure of TVs, phones and tablets, binge-watching shows, scrolling through social media, and losing ourselves in video games. As MIT Professor Sherry Turkle observes in her book