3D Is Bad for Kids. Wait, No It’s Not.

Did you all hear that news story that made the rounds recently about how Nintendo’s 3DS (and 3D in general) is going to blind all of our children? That caused quite a little freak-out among the anti-3D crowd. No surprise, now another group of experts says that there’s no need for hysteria.

This all started when Nintendo issued a warning that children under 6-years-old should not look at 3D images (which would include playing the company’s new 3DS system in 3D mode). The reason cited was that the muscles in eyes are not fully formed in young children. That was followed soon thereafter by a similar warning from Toshiba that kids shouldn’t watch the glasses-free 3D televisions that the company has been demonstrating at trade shows.

Was there any scientific or medical basis for this, or does it all stem back to someone making an assumption and acting overly-concerned? According to the American Optometric Association, it was probably the latter. In fact, the group says that 3D viewing may actually help uncover subtle eye disorders that could result in learning difficulties if not corrected.

As with anything, I think this really comes down to a simple need for moderation. Plopping kids down in front of a television (or playing a handheld game console) for hours on end probably isn’t great for them on a number of levels, 3D or not. Make them go out and play in the sunshine or something, OK?

[via MSNBC]

4 comments

  1. Jane Morgan

    My kids and my brother’s kids are all in the 7-11 age range. They all have tried 3D, multiple times. Not one of the five of them like it. The youngest one lasted a minute, said it hurt.

    All five of our kids have their own DS. None of them want a 3DS. They all want iPhones or iPods, which they won’t be getting any time soon.

    The boys got a Kinect for christmas. They enjoyed it for three days. It no longer interests them. So it goes with children and technology.

    These days, in Wisconsin, not much can compete with playing in the snow.

  2. Patrick A Crone

    This seems like Nintendo being cautious. I think given the company’s issues with Pokemon giving kids siezures back in the 90s, Nintendo is making sure any health problems can be avoided.

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