# Will siting too close to the television set damage eyesight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110 "2003-06-16T00:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BellaVoce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@BellaVoce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaVoce)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/1 "2003-06-16T00:54:38Z")
It has been shown that, depite what your mother may say, touching yourself has no effect on a person’s eyesight. But, what about siting too close to the television? What about the computer screen? Does it make a difference as to whether it is a flat screen or CRT? ---
**Author:** ![Ununnilium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/45deac/32.png) [@Ununnilium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ununnilium)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/2 "2003-06-16T01:07:42Z")
Overfocusing, over a long period of time, can degrade eyesight. Thus, sitting too close or watching with the lights off can have an effect. Andrew “NO .SIG MAN” “Juan” Perron, yo! ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/3 "2003-06-16T01:22:37Z")
Staying focused on the same close point for extended periods of time won’t damage the eye itself, as far as I know, but it can strain the muscles of your eyes, making it harder to focus on anything else. For this reason, when you’re reading, watching TV or using a computer, you should periodically focus on something far away to give your eye muscles a rest. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/4 "2003-06-16T01:24:00Z")
Oh, and no, it doesn’t matter if you’re focusing on a TV, flatscreen, book, or model airplane kit. What matters is keeping your eyes focused too close for too long. ---
**Author:** ![Ununnilium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/45deac/32.png) [@Ununnilium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ununnilium)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/5 "2003-06-16T01:27:49Z")
Right, what I meant. ^\_^v A book, a machine control panel, Superman’s rear… too focused = bad. Andrew “NO .SIG MAN” “Juan” Perron, too much of anything = bad, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/6 "2003-06-16T04:50:57Z")
What about the high amount of radiation that emanates from a monitor or TV set? Can’t those particles of radiation, over time, degrade and/or mutate someone’s eyes if they are exposed to it too much at close distances? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/7 "2003-06-16T14:46:36Z")
“flat screen or CRT?” Aren’t flat screen tvs CRTs? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/8 "2003-06-16T15:09:38Z")
CRT = Cathode Ray Tube Flat screens don’t use the big picture tubes. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-siting-too-close-to-the-television-set-damage-eyesight/182110/9 "2003-06-16T15:37:05Z")
**FCM** , flat screen and flat panel are two different things. My TV and computer monitors are all now flat-screen CRTs. . .the surface of the screen, instead of being curved like older screens, is flat. It’s still a CRT, but the viewing surface is flat. A flat panel is an LCD screen without a picture tube.