SHIRE is launching “screen responsibly,” a new educational initiative about the intersection between our screen use and eye health. This initiative is underscored by new national Shire-sponsored survey data and a partnership with Thrive Global, a “behavior-change media and technology company,” to increase the dialogue about how people can love both their screens and their eyes, Shire said in a statement.
The new initiative is an extension of Shire’s “eyelove” campaign, which launched in 2016 to elevate the importance of eye health and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of chronic dry eye, commonly referred to as dry eye.
“Our relationship with technology is one of the most important conversations of our time,” says Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and one of the voices for screen responsibly. “And that includes giving attention to how screens are affecting our first line of defense: our eyes. That’s why Thrive has joined forces with eyelove, to help people learn how to screen responsibly, while still enjoying all the benefits of technology.”
New results from the screen responsibly survey of 1,001 adults with self-reported dry eye or dry eye symptoms and 1,000 ophthalmologists and optometrists revealed unique insights into the relationship between people with dry eye symptoms and screens including:
- Adults were more comfortable discussing how much they weigh (41 percent), the amount of junk food they eat (44 percent), the time they spend online shopping (51 percent) or how much they drink on the weekends (55 percent) than share their screen usage.
- Adults agreed they cannot pursue their life passions without screens (70 percent).
- Nearly two-thirds of surveyed eyecare professionals reported a rise in eye-related issues that they attribute to screen usage.
- While adults said that caring for their eyes and vision is extremely important, less than half reported using screens responsibly most of the time.
New resources and custom content that show how people can live a screen-healthy lifestyle are available on screenresponsibly.com. A screen personality quiz is also available on the site that will guide users to content tailored to their unique screening style, along with information for consumers on dry eye and tips on how to best chat with their eye doctor.
–Andrew Karp
