Prevalence and Association of Digital Eye Strain with the Quality of Sleep and Feeling of Loneliness among Female College Students in Northern India.

INTRODUCTION

Because of COVID's impact on social behavior, students have become more reliant on computer-facilitated communication to continue their studies and interact with friends. While it is known that the association between screen exposure and psychological well-being is both harmful and stronger among adolescents than younger children, what is less studied are the causal factors that may mediate the relationship.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this study were to analyze the relationship between screen exposure and two psychological outcomes, sleep quality and loneliness, using digital eye strain as a mediating factor. Eye strain is expected to have a direct and harmful influence on psychological well-being.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A structured and validated questionnaire was transcribed and administered online. A nonrepresentative sample of 497 female college students in a North Indian city participated in the study. Digital eye strain, quality of sleep, and feeling of loneliness scores were assessed using latent class analysis.

RESULTS

The selected latent model suggested that Class 2 had a high percentage of students with network issues, the problem with space and noise, and various financial hardships, which had almost doubled the rate of loneliness (53.28%) and sleep-wake difficulties (75.41%) among the students affected with computer vision syndrome (89.75%).

CONCLUSION

There is an urgent need to examine the implications of digital exposure across gender and age to prevent future complications. Further, awareness for improving holistic well-being in the digital era should be promoted through various platforms.