Question

Tablets should not replace textbooks because overuse of tablets can cause health problems for students.
Which is the strongest evidence to support the claim?

Answer 1

The strongest evidence would be high-quality, peer‑reviewed research that links student tablet use to measurable health harms — ideally large longitudinal studies or randomized/intervention trials that control for other factors and show increased rates of specific problems (myopia progression, digital eye strain, sleep disruption, musculoskeletal pain) in students who use tablets heavily versus those who use textbooks.

Examples of strong supporting studies:
- Chang A‑M et al., “Evening use of light‑emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next‑morning alertness,” PNAS 2015 — showed evening use of light‑emitting devices suppressed melatonin and impaired sleep.
- Systematic reviews/meta‑analyses linking near work and screen time with myopia in children (e.g., Huang H‑M, Chang D‑S, Wu P‑C. PLoS One 2015) — found an association between near work/close screen use and increased myopia risk.
- Reviews on digital eye strain and musculoskeletal complaints from prolonged device use (e.g., Rosenfield M., “Computer vision syndrome,” Optometry and Vision Science, 2011/2016 updates) — document symptoms like eye strain, headaches, and neck/back pain with prolonged screen use.

If you need a single strongest-sounding statement to support the claim: cite a large longitudinal study showing that children who used tablets several hours a day had a statistically significant increase in myopia progression, sleep problems, and musculoskeletal complaints compared with children using textbooks, after adjusting for confounders.