Experts believe that there may not be such a vision threat after all.
Several eye specialists believe that the Nintendo 3DS does not pose a threat towards the development of vision in children. Following the warning Nintendo released last week, specialists were surprised at some of the claims Nintendo made. "The fact you'd watch 3-D in a theater or a video game should have zero deleterious impact whatsoever," stated Dr. Lawrence Tychsen, Professor of Pediatrics and Ophthalmology at Washington University in St. Louis.
In a research project involving baby monkeys and 3D entertainment, Tychsen's clinic found that vision was not affected after experiencing 3D films. When Nintendo was asked to follow up on their comments, Charlie Scibetta, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for Nintendo of America stated that "Nintendo's position is children 6 and under should not use the 3-D feature of Nintendo 3DS, and parents should use the Parental Controls feature to restrict access to the 3-D mode."
Dr. David Hunter, professor of ophthalmology at Harvard University and ophthalmologist-in-chief at Children’s Hospital Boston, further confirms that there is no relation between 3D entertainment and eye development. This is because the human eye interprets 3D imagery differently, according to his research. He did, however, confirm that the eyes of an infant can be fragile and react to the environment in different ways. He continues to reiterate that the only harm that 3D entertainment can cause is from all the information the brain is trying to process at once.
David Granet, a pediatric opthalmologist at the University of California, San Diego, and chairman-elect of the ophthalmology section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, went on to state that screen time of any kind isn't without its consequences. He mentions that there is concern in the field of pediatrics that it could affect a child's ability to pay attention. He too doesn't believe that 3D images can affect a child in anyway. "I don't think that parents need to worry about kids playing video games, 3-D or otherwise, from a vision perspective. The bigger question for parents is: Do you really want your 3-year-old playing a video game?"
