What is a healthy distance to have between your monitor and your eyes?

I keep my monitor very close to my eyes, it's basically right in front of my keyboard, so it's like monitor, keyboard, forearms, me (+/- a bit depending on whether I'm leaning back or forward). It's a 24" 1920x1200 TN (not sure why that matters at all), and I was recently told I shouldn't have it be this close as this might cause near-sightedness. I'm so used to it being so close, it's not at a distance where I can see individual pixels or anything, reading feels natural and this way it's just a more immersive experience. But I tried putting it farther back and at first it was a bit weird, but I can get used it if I have to.

Just curious, what is your opinion on the matter and at what distance do you keep your monitor? Feel free to share images of your setup for comparison.

EDIT: I just measured the distance and it's around 15 inches when I'm leaning forward, about 20 when I'm leaning back.

as long as the contrast is at a decent level sitting to close isn't much of a problem. If contrast/backlight is high its like staring at a light-bulb.

24" should be good enough at arms (including fingers) length. Though it is said that starting monitors for prolonged periods and many days a week do increase the risk of near sightedness I really doubt +- few inches is going to make things worse or better. The fact that one is staying indoors for so long is what matters more for increasing the risk of myopia.

AMD_Fan said:

EDIT: I just measured the distance and it's around 15 inches when I'm leaning forward, about 20 when I'm leaning back.

Click to expand...

That's too close. Try 24"-30" for when you're sitting upright. But more important is to take a 5 min break every hour or so.