I couldn’t find the actual study online, but it came out of the UK where a laser eye surgeon claims there has been a 35% increase in nearsightedness—screen sightedness, he has dubbed it—since 1997. He believes smartphones are a cause, and warns that the problem will only get worse.

British researchers coined the problem "screen sighted," referring to a 35 percent increase in nearsightedness since the launch of smartphones in 1997.

Mr Allamby said: 'If things continue as they are, I predict that 40 to 50 per cent of 30-year-olds could have myopia by 2033 as a result of smartphones and lifestyles in front of screens — an epidemic we call screen sightedness.'