Tech culture has come a long way in the past few decades. With the expansion of the Internet and the widespread use of smart mobile devices, being tied to technology is no longer purely the domain of the proverbial geek. When even grandparents on remote islands are posting photographs on their Facebook accounts, it is clear that our penchant for technology has moved into the mainstream. Given the fact that eight of the top ten richest people in the world are in the tech industry, many individuals today would love nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
Eyes on Me
Part of the growing admiration for the tech demographic has been the elevation of geeky characters into sex symbols. While most hardcore geeks have held lifelong crushes for Princess Leia and Fox Mulder, being brainy and brooding did not use to get you a massive fan following. This has changed in recent years and audiences now have a myriad of such characters to whet their appetites. From Felicity Smoak, the smoaking hot IT genius on Arrow, to Leonard Hofstadter, the bashful experimental physicist on The Big Bang Theory, these characters provide relatable role models for the new tech-savvy generation.
Along with the mainstream adoption of the tech aesthetic comes the rise of the quintessential geek accessory—glasses. A suitable pair of spectacles not only helps you see better but has been proven to give the impression that its wearer is smart, dependable, and successful. Glasses used to be the first thing to be thrown out in the typical beautification process of any teen makeover movie, but these days they can be the cherry on top of a stylish ensemble.
Donned by the likes of Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp on the red carpet, glasses have been appearing often in Hollywood and an increasing number of luxury fashion brands are adding eyewear to their product lines. Fashion influencer Kendall Jenner has been known for pairing low-key retro glasses with her party outfits and has even launched her own eyewear brand. Superman star and geek heartthrob Henry Cavill not only revived Clark Kent’s signature bespectacled look but also became the face of BOSS Eyewear.
For regular people like us who want to get in on the trend of looking smart and cool, there are now numerous options to buy glasses online. From thick tortoiseshell frames to rimless glasses with ultrathin arms, there are glasses to fit and compliment any face and fashion style. Many online glasses retailers also provide prescription lens services, allowing shoppers to tailor their eyewear to suit their specific needs.
Seeing the Light
Of course, style is not the only reason why people wear glasses. The Vision Council of America estimates that 75 percent of adults use vision correction in some form, with approximately 64 percent wearing eyeglasses regularly. According to a survey by the CDC, 32.5 percent of children aged 6-17 years wear eyeglasses or contact lenses. With technology encroaching into almost every aspect of our lives, adults are estimated to be spending 12 hours or more looking at a screen each day, be it for work or leisure.
Myopia or nearsightedness is a common eye condition affecting one in three people, with Asians seemingly more genetically predisposed. Computer vision syndrome or digital eye strain is also another problem that has stemmed from our dedication to all things digital, leading to itchy or burning eyes, headaches, fuzzy vision, lumbar pain, and sensitivity to light. Too much technology has commonly been blamed for the rising incidence of myopia and other associated eye issues. However, recent research seems to provide a different view.
Scientists have been trying to find out the true causes of myopia for decades as they were confounded by the unprecedented rise in myopia in young adults in East Asia. Over the last sixty years, the Chinese population’s rate of myopia incidence rose from 10-20 percent to a shocking 90 percent. While this has been largely blamed on children spending too much time on television and video games, scientists noted that the rise began long before the onset of mass digitized media. In addition, individuals who were more highly educated and more engaged with bookwork seemed to have worse vision outcomes.
A breakthrough came around 2010 when scientists began to research children and their study environments across the world. An unexpected result was that children who spent more time indoors were at greater risk of developing myopia. Further studies found that high light levels were a key factor, leading scientists to suggest that children should spend at least three hours a day in bright sunlit environments.
As research continues to unearth the underlying reasons why we, as a population, are getting more and more shortsighted, we can continue to protect our eyes by taking frequent screen breaks and remembering to blink and rest our eyes. In the meantime, anti-reflective and blue light filter lenses for your glasses can also help to reduce glare and eye strain. Just like technology, myopia is here to stay. Until scientists can figure out how to fix our vision problems, we may as well embrace them and look good while doing so.