Half the planet will need glasses by 2050 due to screens, research suggests

According to research published in the Ophthalmologist journal, 4.8billion people, or 49.8 per cent of the global population, will need reading glasses by 2050 – almost double the 2010 figure of 28.3 per cent.

The study suggests that ‘lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near-work activities’ – time spent looking at screens – are ‘widely considered’ to be behind this dramatic change

High income countries are most at risk of myopia, the researchers say, simply because the people living in those countries spend more time looking at their television, or phone, or laptop.