The average American spends nearly four hours looking at their phones each day. This time increases to seven hours if you also include other devices with screens. Our eyes were not designed to use screens for such long periods of time and it's making us nearsighted. iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 come with a feature that can help with the strain caused by our digital lives.As a recent article by Apple Insider explains, Apple's latest operating system versions for the iPhone and iPad come with a feature called Screen Distance that may help cut down on the risk of nearsightedness, especially in children.

Nearsightedness or myopia is a vision condition in which far-away objects seem blurry. It's the main cause of vision impairment among kids. When children are using phones, they often hold them very close to their eyes. Eye doctors believe there is a link between nearsightedness and near work or tasks that require close visual focus.

Apple's new feature will encourage you to keep a safe distance between your iPhone and iPad and your eyes. It's an opt-in feature and can be enabled by tapping on Screen Distance which can be found after tapping on Screen Time in Settings.

The feature will tell you that the "iPhone is Too Close" whenever it finds you holding your device closer than 12 inches to your eyes for a prolonged period. To continue using your device you'll have to move it to a safe distance. It will also remind you that keeping your iPhone at arm's length is good for your eyesight. 

The Screen Distance feature uses the TrueDepth camera to determine the distance between the display and your eyes. It works on the iPhone XS and newer models and the 2018 iPad Pro and newer variants.

Our digital lives are changing our habits and if precautions are not taken, it could affect our posture and cause eye problems. Half of young adults are already believed to be suffering from myopia, twice as many as 50 years back.

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