Computer Vision Syndrome: A widely spreading but largely unknown epidemic among computer users

The present paper is intended to introduce behavioral researchers to Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), a widely spreading but largely unknown epidemic among professional and ordinary computer users, and to call for behavioral research programs to help computer users address this visual epidemic. Beginning with three clinical cases, the paper analyzes the classic definition of CVS, discusses the prevalence of CVS, reviews five major symptoms of CVS (i.e. eyestrain, headache, blurred vision, dry eyes, and neck/back pain), summarizes five types of contributing factors of CVS (i.e. computer screens, computer environments, human eyes, computer users, and computer tasks), and presents basic preventive and treatment strategies. Finally, three future research directions for behavioral science research are briefly discussed.