Do E-Readers Cause Greater Eye Strain Than Paper Books?

Since the unveiling of the first Sony e-ink e-reader in 2006 and the ensuing competitive frenzy which resulted in the introduction of the Kindle, Nook, Skiff, iPad, and others to American society in quick succession, controversy has surrounded this new technological phenomenon. The debate has mainly centered on a small pool of topics such as the health implications of such devices, the environmental impact they could have, and of course the biggest question of all: Could e-readers potentially replace paper books altogether? In this five part series, I set out to answer these questions objectively, gathering as much evidence as possible to support my conclusions.

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There has been a lot of skepticism as to whether or not the increased resolution of e-ink technology really eliminates eye strain commonly associated with the prolonged use of LCD screens. In a New York Times article earlier this year, Dr. Travis Meredith, chair of the ophthalmology department at the University of North Carolina, was quoted as saying that “Most of what our mothers told us about our eyes was wrong. Sitting close to a television, or computer screen, isn’t bad for our eyes. It’s a variety of other factors that can cause physical fatigue.” Really? Clearly there must be something potentially harmful about staring at an electronic display because Dr. Meredith contradicts himself when he goes on to say, “The current problem with reading on screens is that we need to adjust our bodies to our computer screens, rather than adjusting the screens to us.” I don’t know about you, but I would rather not adjust my body to suit the whims of a machine.

Backing up Meredith is Professor Alan Hedge, director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University. In the same New York Times article Dr. Hedge explains that “a series of ocular muscles jump around and can cause strain, regardless of whether we are looking at pixels or paper.” As a book reviewer and blogger, I spend many long hours reading paper books and using the computer. I’m no expert, but it’s been my experience that a couple of hours on the computer predictably causes notable eye strain, a rare occurrence when reading a book for the same length of time.

The medical community’s consensus is that the LCD and e-ink screens of recent years do not cause any more eye strain than reading a paper books do. Carl Taussig, director of Hewlett-Packard’s Information Surfaces Lab says “the 120 Hz refresh rate typical of modern screens is much quicker than our eyes can even see.” He goes on to conclude, “The new LCDs don’t affect your eyes. Today’s screens update every eight milliseconds, whereas the human eye is moving at a speed between ten and thirty milliseconds.”

Modern screens may refresh faster than my eyes can see, but I cannot simply disregard my personal experience with LCD screens which would indicate that staring at a screen does cause some level of eye strain. And if the experts are wrong about the effects of LCD screens (it wouldn’t be the first time), then can I, the consumer, trust them to be right about the effects of e-ink screens? I think this is a situation where everyone will have to decide for themselves. For some, eye strain may prove to be a problem, and for others it may not be. If you’re considering purchasing an e-reader, I recommend you borrow a friend’s first and try it out for a few hours to see for yourself whether or not eye strain is something you should be worried about.