visakhapatnam m ratna sagar a resident of mvp colony of the city used to discourage his son an intermediate student from playing video games and regulate his use of a mobile phone before the onset of covid19 cut to march 2020 with the pandemic forcing the academic institutions to shut down for months on end he had no other option other than adapting to the new reality of online education for his wardthis is not an isolated case as lakhs of students in andhra pradesh had to switch to online platforms to achieve academic continuity in the last two years but medical experts point to the increasing vision problems in children that has come about with the increase in screen time particularly with prolonged usage of smartphones in the last decadethe results of a recent mass screening programme under dr ysr kanti velugu programme corroborated this trend the state government conducted eye tests on nearly 66 lakh schoolgoing children in andhra pradesh as part of the kanti velugu initiative spectacles were prescribed to 158 lakh students while other eye conditions were identified in 2621 children among those screened surgeries were performed on about 309 studentsrenowned ophthalmologist and former regional eye hospital superintendent dr vvl narasimha rao said prolonged exposure to electronic gadgets will do cause harm in children than adults there has been an increase in the number of eye complaints in children in the last two years unfortunately parents are left with the only option of online learning for their kids but parents should make sure their kids take frequent breaks in between classes said dr raodr rao added that screen time of children should be limited not only online classes some children have their eyes glued to video games even after attending virtual classes children tend to blink less frequently while playing video games or attending online classes leading to itchy dry eyesnarava prakasa rao convenor of andhra pradesh right to education forum said parents should engage children in physical activities once online classes are over for the day it has been brought to our attention that some children are immersing themselves in cartoon shows or video games even after classes rather than physical games this will be a double burden on their eyes said prakasa rao