Eye-Strain on LCDs is a Myth (or missunderstood)

[kad032000]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Just as science provides fairly conclusive evidence that tying your shoes is not a direct cause of brain cancer, it also indicates clearly that eye-strain can be suffered while reading any media to an extreme. Even scientists don't need a "smoking gun," as long as they have the gun, the bullet hole, and the remnants of the bullet.

Scientists and doctors have been providing ergonomic guidelines for reading (as well as many other activities) for years. They can hardly be held accountable when people don't take their guidelines to heart, and thereby suffer eye-strain.

Well put.

[Magnesus]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Which again gets back to the point that it's crucial to turn the brightness up or down to match the ambient lighting when reading on an LCD or other backlit screen.

If you do that on LCD screen the contrast will be abysmal in most situations.

[astra]

Originally Posted by searcher

It is a dirty apple propaganda.

People that claim this should be jailed for 10 years in Guantanamo.

It's the same as to say that cigarettes doesn't cause cancer.

Could not agree more.

I don't give the tiniest rat's ass(c) about the real reason behind the fact that my eyes get tired if I read from LCD screen and don't get tired when I read from eInk screen. So, I act accordingly to my experience with the both types of screens.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by Magnesus

If you do that on LCD screen the contrast will be abysmal in most situations.

It's perfectly fine on the iPad for reading. Turn it down to the right level to read a book in the e-book app. Don't have to fool with the system brightness and can leave it in the auto mode for net surfing, video watching, playing games and the other tasks were things look best with the brightness up.

That's why I think so many hate LCD screens. They only look good for most things with the brightness up pretty high, so not enough people are turning it down to the right level when they're trying to read a book for an hour or two on them.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by astra

Could not agree more.

I don't give the tiniest rat's ass(c) about the real reason behind the fact that my eyes get tired if I read from LCD screen and don't get tired when I read from eInk screen. So, I act accordingly to my experience with the both types of screens.

That's the right attitude as I feel the same way in general as I've said repeatedly--read on what you like and don't worry about others read on (much less go around bashing their opinion etc.) is the way to go.

I prefer LCD as I just don't read that much, hate the slow page turns of e-ink etc. But I certainly have no problem with people preferring e-ink, as that's why we have the variety of devices to chose from. We can all find what works best for us. I only get annoyed at people that go bitch about LCD screens in device area forums for things like the iPad etc., as people that hate the tech shouldn't be posting in forums since they have no interest in the device.

[WallOfSound]

I get eye-strain from LCD screens and I know a lot of other people who do to. I've tried all the solutions people recommend like adjusting screen brightness, distance, surrounding light sources and none of them made a noticeable difference. The only thing that works for me is regular breaks from looking at the screen, at least 1 minute in every 15 say. This is fine for allowing me to do work, surf the web, read e-mails etc but it's obviously awful in terms of immersing myself in a lengthy work like a book. That's when I use e-ink which is awful at most of the above but simply doesn't cause anywhere near as much strain on my eyes as LCD.

I don't mind having to use two different technologies, I like it, they compliment each other. However I'm sick and tired of people telling me that eye-strain caused by LCD isn't an issue and that I just don't understand how to use the screen correctly

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by WallOfSound

I don't mind having to use two different technologies, I like it, they compliment each other. However I'm sick and tired of people telling me that eye-strain caused by LCD isn't an issue and that I just don't understand how to use the screen correctly

Have you tried a tablet or PDA with adjustable brightness?

I can't stand reading on a desktop monitor or laptop/netbook regardless of brightness setting etc. as I just can't get the distance and angle right.

But I have little problems with a PDA, iPad etc. Not picking on you, or saying you're doing it wrong. Just curious as I hated LCD reading until I tried it on handhelds.

[WallOfSound]

I've tried it on an iphone, it was far better than just using a laptop or desktop but I still found myself getting eye-strain and needing to take breaks. For short stories and poems it would have been fine but 90% of what I read is novels and I couldn't even finish one without switching to a kindle. If e-ink didn't exist then maybe I could have got used to it but the temptation of painless reading was too much.

Not tried it on an tablet, when I have enough money I'll get an ipad anyway because they look amazing for casual computing but I'm not expecting it to replace an e-ink reader.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I regularly get eyestrain from reading glossy magazines, and when I test-drove an e-ink reader a few months ago, I got eyestrain from that. I've gotten eyestrain from my PDA and smartphone on the way home. In all cases, it was due to working in front of a computer all day, without breaks.

No one can deny that the eyes just need rest... and if your equipment isn't properly set for your eyes and the reading environment, you're gonna need more.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I find that a flawed comparison. Smoking is a nasty habit, it should be banned, but the reason it's unhealthy is because you inhale foreign material. Which causes the cancer.

If you read with a LCD screen, you don't add anything to your body. You don't inhale, sniff, inject, etc. anything.

So, when one is run over by bus, it is absolutely harmless, because the only thing that can cause damage to one's body is something administered internally.
Absolutely flawless approach

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by WallOfSound

Not tried it on an tablet, when I have enough money I'll get an ipad anyway because they look amazing for casual computing but I'm not expecting it to replace an e-ink reader.

Yeah I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on reading on it if you pick one up.

I like reading on my girlfriend's iPad way more than I thought. Get the brightness at the right level and it didn't really bother my eyes. I've not read for more than an hour on it. But for me I seldom read longer than that in a stretch, so it could probably replace my Kindle.

But could be an issue for people who regularly read for hours on end--which is a lot of people here. So for you all it probably couldn't replace e-ink for both the eye strain possibilities and the battery life etc.

[ChrisC333]

I don't think it's a myth, but I do think it's been exaggerated. It has suited the makers of e-ink devices to draw attention away from the drab grey-on-grey look of e-ink by advertising that it's easy on the eye. Why not - it's a good marketing strategy - but it doesn't mean that we'll all get eye trouble if we don't use their products.


I've been reading on computer screens on a daily basis for over 20 years. I've used them for work, to play games, to read email, search for information, and so on, for hours on end with no eye problems at all. That doesn't mean that some people don't have a genuine difficulty, just that I don't.

However, I also remember that when computers first came into widespread use in workplaces that a certain percentage of people claimed that they were giving them RSI. It was quite the buzz for a while. Yet you hardly hear of it now, despite the number of users having greatly increased since then. This is probably partly due to better workplace practice regarding sitting correctly and taking movement breaks. The same appears to be true with eye strain. Some people really did get RSI and some really do have eye problems, but the millions of hours now successfully worked at computers every day now suggest that the numbers whose problems can't be solved by changing their settings or usage patterns are relatively small.

I actually prefer a properly adjusted backlit screen to the rather dull look of e-ink (although either is OK) so the rapid development of small tablet style computers is perfect for my needs.

[Magnesus]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Have you tried a tablet or PDA with adjustable brightness?

I tried PDA as a dictionary while reading paper book with brightness set to minimum level (so the background was grey not white). My eyes were in pain very soon.
Maybe LCD with LED backlight are better. I don't know.

[dmaul1114]

Yeah LED backlighting does make a difference as it has no flicker. My current laptop and office desktop are LED backlit, and they bother my eyes very little for doing work. I still don't much like reading on them, but that's more due to the poor form factor for reading. Again, the screen on the iPad doesn't bother me.

I never liked reading on my old Palm Pilot (still have it), though that was more the small screen than the light issue.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by ChrisC333

However, I also remember that when computers first came into widespread use in workplaces that a certain percentage of people claimed that they were giving them RSI. It was quite the buzz for a while. Yet you hardly hear of it now, despite the number of users having greatly increased since then.

Rather, it was made plain that companies were liable if their employees got RSI because of their negligence in providing equipment of a reasonable standard, and medical providers were trained in explaining to people how to avoid RSI, and exercises for it.