All that squinting at tiny screens is causing physical problems for some, but there are ways to lessen the harm. Ever since smartphones burst onto the marketplace nearly a decade ago, making reading on the devices as attractive as talking into them, much has been said about their seductive power. Psychologists describe those who hyperventilate after discovering they are missing their phones as having “nomophobia” (the fear of having no-mobile), and those who sense the buzzing of a new call or text, even when it didn’t happen are said to be plagued by Phantom Cell Phone Vibration Syndrome.
Comedians, too, love to mock the image of a solitary human gazing into the smartphone and asking Siri to define loneliness. Yet for all the concern over smartphones and other mobile devices and their addictive potential, there may be more physical problems to consider: Staring at tiny screens, it…
