3D smartphones could cause eyesight damage

Join the 3DS club

Research has been published by those in the know that suggests stereo 3D viewing on smartphones could damage eyesight and cause serious discomfort.

Handsets like the Evo 3D and Optimus 3D can now join ranks with the Nintendo 3DS in the glasses-free headache brigade.

Professor Martin Banks, an Optometrist, published the research in the Journal of Vision. It examined the effect of stereo 3D display viewing on 24 adult patients.

The results showed how when viewing a screen close, say for example a mobile phone, images placed in front of the screen caused discomfort. Conversely when at a cinema that placed further behind and with depth, causes more difficulty for the eyes. It is known as vergence accommodation and is a common problem amongst those viewing stereo 3D content.

"When watching stereo 3D displays, the eyes must focus - that is, accommodate - to the distance of the screen because that's where the light comes from.

"At the same time, the eyes must converge to the distance of the stereo content, which may be in front of or behind the screen," explained Banks.

Smartphones aren't the only 3D mobile devices said to be causing eye problems. There is continued guffor surrounding Nintendo's 3DS, which is allegedly causing some gamers to feel sick.

The device allows you to control the level of depth found in the 3D, perhaps a good way to help reduce the vergence accommodation problem for those who suffer.

Then again, you could just whack it on full blast and accept your eyes are knackered anyway from staring close quarters at televisions/computers/phones all day anyway (at least our are).