TV and Vision: Separating Fact from Fiction - Eye Health Explained

While prolonged, nearsighted viewing, such as watching a lot of television without taking breaks, can cause temporary eyestrain, there is no medical evidence that watching excessive television, in and of itself, can impair the clarity of your vision or permanently damage your eyes.

Your eye shape and corneal curvature, not watching television, largely determine a person's refractive errors as an adult, such as nearsightedness (myopia) or farsightedness (hyperopia).