European VitreoRetinal Society/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

Love often keeps you in the dark about its source and its course.

For one Chinese man, however, that darkness brought consequences he surely couldn't have foreseen.

This man was partial to messaging app WeChat. This delightful thing allow for intimate conversations, day and night.

Here, however, there was a dark side. As Medical Daily reports, this 26-year-old WeChatted with his beloved so much in the dark that his retina became detached.

Retinal detachment tends to appear in those who already suffer from advanced myopia. It is also far more prevalent among those of advanced years.

There are many symptoms, including heaviness of the eyes and a vast increase in the number of floaters.

In this case, the man is said to have suddenly suffered a plethora of sudden flashes in his eyes.

Once the retina, a layer of tissue that goes around the surface of the eye, becomes detached repair needs to be swift.

The original reporting from WantChina Times says that this lover needed surgery to ensure his eyesight remained intact.

Excessive use of cell phones has been linked by researchers to headaches, dry eye, and blurred vision. Doctors are relating early and constant screen staring with myopia in the very young. German researchers have even linked cell phones to eye cancer.

Clearly, this example is extreme. At least, one would hope it is. Who, though, hasn't caught themselves staring mesmerically at a screen for hours on end? Taking a break has to be worthwhile.

Though there will be those who suggest that perhaps the Chinese man's girlfriend might have stayed over, rather than relying on nighttime texting, one can only hope that he has made a full recovery.

And that their relationship is all the stronger for his pain.