Screen Time: Friend or Foe?

"Don't sit too close to the TV!" or "Put that iPad away!" — common phrases in every household. But when it comes to vision therapy, screens might actually be the solution, not the problem.

Passive vs. Active Screen Time

Not all screen time is created equal. The American Academy of Pediatrics distinguishes between:

• Passive Consumption (The "Bad"): Mindlessly watching videos or cartoons. The eyes are fixed, blinking reduces, and there is little cognitive engagement. This can lead to eye strain.
• Active Engagement (The "Good"): Educational games, creative apps, or video calls. The user interacts, makes decisions, and moves their eyes to scan the screen.

Piggy Peekaboo falls into the "Active" category. It demands constant visual scanning, focus switching, and hand-eye coordination.

Why Digital Therapy Works: Perceptual Learning

For a lazy eye to strengthen, it needs to work hard. Traditional patching often fails because the child is bored and just stares blankly (even with a patch on). Medical research refers to effective digital therapy as Perceptual Learning.

Studies found that active video game therapy can yield improvements in visual acuity comparable to patching, but often with higher compliance rates. Digital therapy games force the brain to:

1. Process High Contrast (Gabor Patches): Piggy Peekaboo uses specific color palettes and contrast patterns (similar to Gabor patches used in clinical settings) that stimulate the visual cortex.
2. Overcome Crowding: Finding a target among clutter trains the brain to separate objects from the background, directly addressing "crowding" phenomena common in amblyopia.
3. Sustain Attention: The fun factor keeps the child's brain engaged, releasing dopamine which aids neuroplasticity (learning).

The 20-20-20 Rule

Even with therapeutic games, eye rest is crucial to prevent digital eye strain. We recommend the 20-20-20 rule:

Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet (6 meters) away for at least 20 seconds.

Piggy Peekaboo's levels are designed to be short, naturally encouraging breaks between sessions.