Purpose: To objectively quantify near-work gaze behaviors and the visual environment during reading tasks performed on a smartphone and on paper in both indoor and outdoor environments in myopes and emmetropes.
Methods: A novel wearable gaze and viewing distance tracking device was used to quantify near-work gaze behaviors (focusing demand) and the visual environment (20° peripheral scene relative defocus) during a series of reading tasks. Data from nine myopes (mean age, 21 ± 1.4 years) and 10 emmetropes (21 ± 0.8 years) were analyzed. Five-minute reading tasks (matched for font type and size) were performed under four conditions: reading from a smartphone indoors, paper indoors, smartphone outdoors, and paper outdoors.
Results: A significantly greater focusing demand (closer viewing distance) was found with smartphone-based reading (mean, 3.15 ± 0.74 D) compared to paper-based reading (2.67 ± 0.48 D) (P < 0.001), with the differences being greatest for myopic participants (P = 0.04). Smartphone reading was also associated with greater peripheral scene relative myopic defocus (P < 0.001). Although near-work behaviors were similar between environments, significantly more relative myopic defocus was found at the start of the paper-based task when performed outdoors compared to indoors (P = 0.02).
Conclusions: Significant differences in focusing demand and scene relative defocus within a 20° field were found to be associated with reading tasks performed on a smartphone and paper in indoor and outdoor environments.
Translational relevance: These findings highlight the complex interaction between near-work behaviors and the visual environment and demonstrate that factors of potential importance to myopia development vary between paper-based and smartphone-based near tasks.