Why so many people need glasses now
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- Опубликовано: 6 мар 2023
- Nearsightedness is on the rise worldwide. How did that happen?
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Over the past few decades, children around the world have been diagnosed with nearsightedness at increasingly high rates. Nearsightedness, or myopia, can stabilize over time, but it doesn’t get better - meaning that myopes will rely on glasses, contact lenses, or corrective surgery to see for their entire lives.
The blurriness associated with myopia is caused by eyeballs that have grown too long; in a stretched-out shape, eyes aren’t able to properly focus images onto the retina. Researchers believe that two culprits are to blame: the lack of outdoor play, and prolonged time doing up-close activities like using digital devices.
In some countries - like Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea, where over 80 percent of students graduating high school are myopic - intervening the progression of myopia has become a nationwide effort.
Read more about...
The global prevalence of myopia: www.aaojournal.org/article/s0...)
How time outdoors reduces myopia risk: bjo.bmj.com/content/104/5/593...
Intervention programs in Taiwan: www.researchgate.net/publicat...
And intervention in Singapore: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
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Stop simping and blur would go away
I am very glad you covered Retinal Detachment. But you didn't cover enough how that caught early enough it is easily repairable. You mentioned Singapore mandating eye exams at school. Even when you are an adult getting an eye exam annually is EXTREMELY IMPORTAINT.
Nty
Dic?
Would love if he explained Astigmatism just the same!
“Homework causes health problems” is the phrase every school kid wants to hear LOL
The truth has been spoken!
For real though, good teachers will maximize what their students learn _in_ class and minimize the amount of studying they have to do outside of class. This holds true for college too, although obviously not to the same degree.
Too much homework is legit abuse though. Those kids that grow up with too much homework usually end up becoming socially awkward since they don't usually get the chance to go outside and make friends.
You know what's more annoying? When it was about to in-semester holiday and the school spam homework in order to keep you busy during the holiday
@@professional.commentator from 6-9th grade my school didnt give homework, the only homework we got was if we were falling behind
Wait, this suddenly makes the old stereotype that nerds or otherwise smart/bookish people wear glasses make sense. Someone who spent all their time reading and studying as a kid would be more prone to myopia and thus need glasses, and that's why people circa the 1950's started associating glasses-wearing with things like book-smarts and introversion, i.e. "nerd" traits.
Yup also gamers!
Every developer at my company wears glasses, and most of the people in other departments who do also do some level of coding or data analysis.
And if you have parents who code/read a lot/high achieving academically (myopic) then likely you do, too, so the parental link may not indicate genetic role, after all.
ye this is true
Hmm
I was really near sighted in my early 20s so last year I got laser eye surgery and honestly sometimes I still get emotional about it. My vision ended up even better than 20/20 and I honestly wasn’t prepared for how good it would be. The day after my surgery I woke up and looked out the window and saw the leaves fluttering around on a tree that was blocks away and I just cried. Good vision is such a precious thing.
awh im so happy for you. that sounds so nice to experience. if you don’t mind me asking, what type of laser eye surgery was it?
I'm afraid of LASIK side effects
Yes, please do tell us why kind of laser eye surgery it was? And have you had any issues?
I had LASIK in my early 20s, and I still think it's the best thing I've ever done.
That said, I'm now 49, and I've had to wear glasses for about a year, now (and drugstore readers for a bit before that), just due to normal aging, I guess. It's frustrating to not be able to see either close up, or far away without them, especially after not needing glasses for so long. But it was still SO worth it.
@@keyboardcockatoo4567 Thank you! It really has been wonderful! I got advanced custom wavefront LASIK. It was more expensive but it was so precise that the extra money was more than worth it!
I wore glasses from the time I was 9 to 24. I'll NEVER forget coming out of that surgery and immediately I could see everything around me with crystal clear clarity
Really happy for you! Would you mind saying what your prescription was and what surgery you got done? I'm nearsighted and I've got astigmatism & currently looking for solutions
I would've spent more time outdoors as a kid if my parents weren't so overprotective in my childhood
Yeah same (outfit) with me
90s kid?
@@lebronjohnson6735 I'm a 90s kid, and my parents let me go pretty much anywhere I wanted, as long as I was with a friend or sibling. I can imagine people being a lot more worried about that now days.
@@lebronjohnson6735 that makes no sense.
Amen to that brother
Australian optometrist here. Mark Bullimore is a big dog in the field, so you definitely found the right guy to interview. Very well explained and of course some simplifications but much less errors/myths than other videos on the subject.
I had laser eye surgery in my late 20s. Can I develop myopia again if I have bad habits like being indoors too much and spending too much time staring at a screen?
Thanks for the shout out 🙂
@@rph8704 Despite getting laser eye surgery, you can still always develop refractive errors later in life
can you give examples of some common myths in this area? im curious
@@rph8704 almost dead set on getting laser eye surgery done. would love a video on this topic
As someone who developed myopia at 6 years old and now, at 23 years old, my myopia is -11 and -9.5, this video is both interesting and terrifying.
Wow that is bad. Mine was around like -4 before i had laser eye surgery and i thought that was bad.
@@theblackswordsman9951 -4 is nothing. I've had women preface their description of their diopters by "it's really bad" only to say it's -3. I'd punch kittens for that at -12. The -12 isn't even the bad part. Glasses I can live with. It's those other more insidious long term maladies that come with it. Needing glasses is the most immediate consequence but among the least important.
@@DKNguyen3.1415 -12 must be like blind without glasses then, because for me if something was a foot away from me it would be blured and at a distance i couldn't tell people apart by face.
I know that feel 😢
I was in your situation then I got Lasik and I'm terrified now because it's starting to get bad again after the pandemic.
As someone who’s dealt with myopia my entire life (currently -8.5), I can’t imagine not being nearsighted and am so jealous of people with normal or almost normal vision (prescriptions between -3 to +3).
but people with -1 to -3 also have wear glasses constant
Same man same number on my left. On my right it's -8.0
How old are you though? I'm 21, does it get worse?
@@wham6267 I'm 33 and have dealt with this since I was a little toddler. I don't remember not being able to see. Luckily it's held steady for years and hasn't changed much at all since high school.
Don't be jealous😂 even with "mild" myopia 1.5 I still can't see within my house or watch tv😢 I actually need glasses as much as you do. Its bec i devepoped myopia later so itis very hard to suddenoy not see well when i was used to seeing well. I don't like it. I miss when I had better vision. I cant even go on a walk outside without my glasses now or I could fell and hurt myself 😅 totally stuck to be any level of myopic.
Vox never ceases to amaze me as to how they can cram in useful and important information in such a short little video .
Simp
YES! ❤
@elfrjz Its not access, its kids spending far too much time indoors studying!
@elfrjz Prevention is better than a cure, watch the video.
@elfrjzNah, asian academics need reformed, much of it is pointless rote memorisation anyway. Thats a social issue anyway, you could study outside!
I spent 75% of my childhood outdoors, and my vision was 20/20. In high school I started spending more time indoors, doing my homework/studying on a laptop. Within 2 years of being in high school, I needed glasses.
I'm exactly the same, I spent so much time outside as a child and then I started my computer science degree, now 3 years later I need glasses.
@@shea6553 I think it's like that with a lot of people 😁😅 I'm so, so glad I spent all that time outdoors instead of behind a screen like most kids nowadays
I've spend 80% of my time indoors since middle school and my vision is still perfect.
Dude samee
@@junjunjamore7735 maybe my issue was because the rapid change from being outdoors all the time to being indoors most of the time? I don't know 😂
I'm 42 years old and have always spent most of my time indoors with tv and video games and my vision is still at least 20/20. Both of my parents started wearing glasses when they were younger than I am now. I consider myself extremely lucky at this point as nearly everyone I know who is my age and older needs their vision corrected somehow.
I'm 30 and I've got a similar deal. Although my vision isn't quite 20/20. I have a very slight astigmatism. It's less than 1. Just enough that I need glasses if I'm very tired. But without glasses, I do see better than most people even if they are wearing their glasses.
I'm 36 and in the same boat. My parents had to use glasses from their 20's. I used to be paranoid I was adopted and this was one of the reasons for it lol. But yeah exact same deal. Did everything wrong and my vision is mostly unchanged. The only difference these days appears to be that I get eye strain faster than when I was young. I imagine we just got genetically very lucky in this regard.
I had perfect vision until I turned 42... went downhill from there! 🤣🤣😭😭😭
Both of my parents and my two sisters wear glasses to read. I'm the only one with perfect vision. I probably spend more time indoors in the dark in front of a computer than 99.99% of humanity. I detest bright light of any kind, and actively avoid sunlight in particular. Guess I just got lucky, but I'm only 27, so time will tell.
I’m 32 and I’m the same. I read a lot growing up too. My eye doctor recently downgraded my eyesight a little bit, but it was mainly because I got a chemical in my eye. So even with a chemical burn that caused a retinal ulcer i have better vision than most people. Thankfully it was able to heal, so I’m nearly back to normal.
I'm high myopic (-7.00/-7.50) and I spent a good deal of time outdoors as a child. And it doesn't seem to come down to my genetics as no one else in my family has such a significant need for vision correction. I used to work as an optician and I have to say that a policy is in place in most commercial optical shops to put glasses on every face that walks in the door. I think that in the past some people with moderate myopia were simply unaware of how bad their vision actually was but the prevalence of big optical chains and cheaper glasses has skewed the numbers a little. Off topic, but anyone interested should look into the mark-up that optical shops place on materials. Those $300 glasses on your face probably cost around $20 wholesale, often less than that. And those coatings and "UV filters" added are pennies if they even exist at all.
This is a very good point. Many just may have not thought they needed them or not had access
Luxotixa
Kudos for not trying to blame it all on recreational screen-time. The parents I know who fret about screen-time… the sedentary aspects, the indoor aspects…. I’ve never heard them complain about kids sitting at school, reading books indoors, playing board games indoors, etc.
We do exist. It was more common one or two generations ago, though. "Why are you sitting in here loafing about, go out and play!" was a common thing for mothers to say.
@@SheepWaveMeByeBye I heard people used to get made fun of for reading books. They'd get called a nerd or geek. Heck, even Socrates opposed books because they eliminated the necessity to memorize information, which he believed made us dumber (the same way people today oppose smartphones for the same reason).
Don't forget that optomtrists are incentivised to over-prescribe glasses for more profit.
thats what my eye doctor told me, it happens because of screen time
I got eye problems from prolonged screen exposure in 2020 though and I was just 12
Optometrist here. Loved how this was packaged and presented! Thanks for bringing exposure to this.
@Zaydan Alfariz, wait until you get older. Then you can have cataract surgery
I had laser eye surgery in my late 20s. Can I develop myopia again if I have bad habits like being indoors or staring at screens?
@rph8704 your distance prescription is unlikely to shift at this point. But once you get into your early- to mid-40s you will unfortunately need reading glasses!
Still, will recommend taking adequate breaks from screens so you don't develop eyestrain or headaches :)
@@elfrjzthank you for your question! Unfortunately, while LASIK is a good option for giving you independence from glasses by reshaping your cornea (the front of your eye), it does not correct the axial length elongation (eyeball length growing) that the video alludes to.
This means that the higher risk of developing retinal detachments, myopic degeneration, and glaucoma remain higher.
There's no cure or reversing that process, so the best thing we can do is preventing it in the first place with myopia control. Children need regular eye exams even if they can seemingly see well enough! I also like to recommend to my patients to get their children 90 mins to 2 hrs of outdoor exposure daily.
@@user-kr6jg6qb7l that's bait.
Glad to hear there’s hope for those who start to develop myopia, and those who have not. For the unfortunate ones with myopia bless their souls.
(19y) I spent the entire covid period and this winter indoors mostly at the computer, I developed weak myopia, but by spending more hours outside, especially at vantage points where you can look into the distance, my vision improved so much that it is almost unrecognizable from a healthy eye . if it is caught in the beginning, it can probably be corrected by changing the lifestyle.
I remember the day my vision went from 20/20 to slightly near-sighted. I can still see without glasses but there is a slight blur when looking in the distance but nothing serious. I can't say I'm surprised as I spent a lot of time playing games and browsing the internet growing up at the time when technology really took off. While I did play outside as a kid too, I guess it wasn't enough 😅.
I had 20/20 vision when I was 19 years old. Now I'm 23 and bit near-sighted. Maybe pandemic made me spend more screen time and lifestyle changed after corona pandemic. Bro, please can you share when you experienced slight near-sightedness. Like what age??
@@universalsoldier811 It happened 8 years ago so I was 20.
These things are complicated, don't blame yourself for it. Imo become an advocate for recess and stretching breaks.
@@Uncharted95 and it remained same over these 8 years. Or it got worse?
Me too but I'm not sure how that makes any sense for me because the time I needed glasses I was spending more time outside than ever.....now my prescription hasn't changed in about 4 years and I've been using more technology than ever
I am a student suffering from myopia in Singapore. Even though the ministry of education has mandated 2 hours of physical lesson every week and has begun encouraging students to go outdoors, I still believe far too less is being done. More than half of my classmates wear glasses now.
Myopia is more than an inconvenience. Hopefully all stakeholders can step in and help to prevent it in children and teenagers who do not yet know the seriousness of myopia. Thank you Vox for shining light on this issue!
It's also the capital of myopia
😅😅😅
Do your classrooms have direct sunlight? If it's about brightness, classrooms that utilizes natural sunlight would be slightly better.
Singaporean here. Back in the 80s, I would say about < 1/4 of my classmates are myopic. We played sports. Video games was in its infancy.
Interventions can be made with Opthalmologist guidance
That’s interesting since my eye sight really got worse when I moved to a colder climate and didn’t have neighborhood kids to play with like I did when I was in elementary school. I was stuck inside more, and I was attached to technology more than I had been as a kid. Makes total sense now that I have glasses
This video was very eye-opening and put into perspective and added the science behind a trend that we have seen as a society. We are seeing more and more people wearing glasses or complaining that their eyesight is getting worse as time is passing. What was usually an issue of getting old is now seen in the younger population where you can go up to undergrad students and a lot of them would talk about how their eyesight is getting worse. I like how this video first explains the science behind this trend by explaining that more and more people are experiencing myopia, in which people are having a smaller range of distance of what they can see in front of them. The video concludes that myopia rates are getting higher because we are spending more time doing a task that requires our eyesight to be focused on something too close for an extended amount of time. This can be seen with students who use a computer or book to study for school. Another reason that it was thought to be behind the rise of myopia rates was that we are spending less time outdoors which increases the probability of developing myopia in the future. In the video it was highlighted that some countries like Asia have very high rates of myopia especially the kid population which was attributed to Asia’s emphasis on education and minimize emphasis on being outdoors. When this was mentioned, it made me think about the ethical point of children's autonomy and if it was being respected and thought about in this case. Just because it thought that education should be of the highest importance in a child’s life it is not ethically correct to put that above the health of a child. Just because the children do not have full autonomy there should be a clear understanding of the importance to have the kid's best interest at hand this means seeing children as a whole person that needs to have a good balance between education and just being a child with time for playing around. Another ethical point that this video made me think about is how the healthcare system was helping with this trend of increased myopia especially in underserved populations as getting eyecare and even more so getting glasses can be a financial burden that underserved populations might not have the resources to deal with. It might come down to getting glasses or being able to afford that month's rent. If myopia is becoming a bigger issue the healthcare system needs to find and support more action to help bridge the gap between eyecare in underserved communities.
A child’s brain is not developed enough to do right choices yet. It needs some sort of guidance to be able to make important decisions and parents are there to guide. Obviously if there’s certain situations that a child’s health would be seriously affected due to certain activities then there should be changes to minimize the impact on health. But that doesn’t mean a child is able to make independent decisions due the undeveloped brain and needs guidance.
Is there a way to reverse this by going outside and looking at distant objects more??
Imagining lives of people with vision problems in a far past freaks me out
I cant live without my glasses
@Zaydan Alfariz was myopia not prevalent or we couldn't test people for it on a large enough scale, I have no idea but I suspect it to be the latter.
no reading, no phones, no computers..... you probably didn't know or cared unless it was really really bad
You are thinking of hyperopia, which would impact ability to read. It’s myopia that’s rising, which is when things far away are blurry. Being unable to recognize faces or see threats at a distance would have been awful.
@@elfrjz maybe it wasn't that prevalent because people with it didn't live long enough to become numerous. Kinda like allergies.
When living in the far past, I bet myopia wasn't your biggest problem.
Some of us are “doomed” from the start. I basically lived outside during my childhood and still ride my bicycle to and from work throughout the year. I was diagnosed with myopia as a child and currently sport glasses just shy of -8 for each eye as a 50+ year old. 😢 And great video!
so right there it cant be an inside/outside thing
Yeah I had a fairly active lifestyle as a kid and spent a good amount of time outside, however I am in my late teens with an average prescription strength of 6.25 and even then my family has a history of terrible vision anyway
Same here. In my own comment I also noted that I've spent the past 5 years of my adult life in front of a screen more or less. My prescription actually got better, go figure.
I mean genetics have to be part of the reason 🤷♀️
@@brunobbigdongzhong Genetics are just brutal. I have a sister. While I have a high myopia she has perfect sight. On the other hand she constantly has teeth problems while I'm always good when visiting dentist every year with minimal efforts.
Fifteen years as a social media manager and, thankfully, still has no need for glasses. I do wear anti-rad glasses for protection and spend time outside. Didn't know that was helpful until I watched this.
Great video, as always!
This video feels like a wake-up call because it's been a couple years since my last eye exam, but I seem to remember them saying my myopia was around 9-11 and learning that just 5 puts you at increased risk of complications is terrifying. I'm probably overdue for an eye exam so I think I'm going to look into getting that done some time soon... it's scarier since I'm over 25, meaning my myopia is fully developed and pretty much irreversible.
No joke, I had better than perfect 20/20 vision when I was a teen and all the way through uni but came out of the pandemic needing glasses. Couldn't leave the house and working from home for 1.5 years. I didn't even notice I needed glasses until I tried someone elses
"I didn't even notice I needed glasses until I tried someone elses" - So in the past with less awareness you might not have got them. Thus not been into the stats
"I had better than perfect 20/20 vision when I was a teen and all the way through uni but came out of the pandemic needing glasses" - Convieniently at the age that most people develops these issues. Don't mix up cause and action. This morning I drank water and at lunch I slipped and fell. Don't drink water.
@@masssssy A perfect example that correlation is not necessarily causation.
Same thing happened to me!! I never needed glasses until after the pandemic
20/20 is not considered perfect vision btw
Nah you just getting old.
When I was 12, I asked my mother to take me to an optician, and she refused. Over the years up to until I was 15, my sight deteriorated sharply. I had to beg and cry because I wasn't seeing anything in class. Only then did I get prescription glasses. At -5.25.
Your mother sounds awful. Condolences
That happened to me, too. Only difference was that I was six.
@@zzhoward Even if his mother got him the glasses earlier, it wouldn't have changed anything because his lifestyle remained the same.
@@Thekingxhesi Wouldn't have changed anything? I don't know if I would call being able to see in the interim nothing.
@@Thekingxhesi Understood, but I am commenting on the fact that his mother refused to listen to her son's concerns and dismissed them for years, letting him struggle on pointlessly. She is not a good parent. Any normal parent would want to help their child out any way they could if they were experiencing issues.
In a recent conversation with my optician, we discussed how it was interested that both of my daughters are also far-sighted like I am, but neither of my sons are. We were given advice similar to this on how to help them not develop myopia: hour+ outside a day, limit 'close work' in the evening and how close they put any books or devices.
I started wearing glasses when I was 9 and my vision got worse year after year, but it stabilized when I reached 17. For me, the biggest reason was spending too much time on computers and living in a dim environment throughout the day. Nowadays my work Mostly revolves around Computers and Electronic devices and to tackle the same I have taken a couple of steps, the best one is keeping my desktop by the window so that I am constantly focusing afar and getting Natural light. I have grown to value good vision and wish to have the same through LASIK in a couple of months.
I never knew the eye had dopamine receptors. When I heard dopamine was involved, I looked up if there was a connection to ADHD (i have it and it is a dopamine disorder) and I saw there are studies beginning to look into the overlap. Fascinating how important dopamine is and how far neurological science has progressed to see these links.
Yes!!! ADHD, what more must you take away from my life?!!! 😭😭😭😭😭
Wait you kidding right ???? I've just started ADHD meds
😮😮😮 I have OCD and I believe that causes a dopamine lack and I've been wonder about ADHD but it may be another overlap. Whoa 😮
yeah i immediately thought about that too when i heard dopamine was involved. thanks adhd ughhh
Weird, I have ADHD and near 20/20 vision
I developed myopia during the height of the pandemic when everything became online. I miss my 20/20 vision everyday. 😥
Same
I have been myopic all of my life, I love the way that I see and only wear glasses to drive. It means to me to be able to see close up and make good stitches. I have always spent a lot of time outdoors.
Birdy
Started wearing glasses at around 9 years old and when I got to 19 my myopia was stabilized at -5 in my one eye and -6 in my other. I could barely see anything without my glasses so I had lasik surgery. I'm now 21 and I can definitely say that life is much easier without glasses
1:38 “something about the way we live today is making it harder and harder for people to see at a distance.” - ironically this could an accurate metaphorical observation too.
Well said
thats a good one.
I doubt people truly looked that far ahead in the past, just wishful thinking that we weren't like this at some point.
I thought the same.
I had been wondering why more and more people wear glasses these days. I watch old movies, or movies set in historic times and wonder "why was everyone able to see long distances without glasses back then??" Now I have a better understanding as to why. I grew up in the 70's and spent most of my free time outside. But my myopia is genetic. Me and my sister have needed glasses since childhood. Thanks for this video!
I didn't realize until this video that it was abnormal that I "grew out of" needing glasses for nearsightedness. I needed them starting in 6th grade as I realized I couldn't read the blackboard well but by the time I went off to college I had 20/20 vision naturally. Now in my 30s I have extremely mild presbyopia (so mild I don't bother wearing glasses 99.9% of the time).
same
Wait how do you grow out of it?
I doubt you have presbyopia in your 30's unless you're 38 or 39.
How do you restore the eyesight back to normal? 🙏🙏
I WISH I KNEW ABOUT THIS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER 😭😭I've asked multiple eye doctors about why I'm becoming myopic all of a sudden and they just said it's "genetics" and "just wear glasses" for that. But as a kid who had a really good vision I used to be proud of, began growing myopic during my 15th year and my indoor time spent in a dark bedroom during that time has a huge correlation! I am glad that I finally know why. And yea, my eyesight remains stable for the past 4-5 years and am still using the same glasses.
Same for me. I was fifteen when I was diagnosed with myopia.
Seriously, your doctor said that?
@@ridwanarifien1628 Yea right, wish they just cared more to give the right advice.
It's not too late to change and reverse, spend a few hours researching Jake Steiner and endmyopia. :)
same here. Ever since the pandemic where I've spent much more time indoors, I've noticed a faster drop in vision
Me watching with my glasses on
Me squinting, because I’m laying down and can’t wear mine 😂
🤣🤣
same
You and like 80% of Asia and almost 50% of America, so it would seem.
Oh, and me.
👓
Dont. Only wear it when you need it and put the screen farther away
I had a friend from Taiwan, his dad had bad vision and knew about this so he made him go outside and play sports a lot as a kid - he has 20/20 vision!
Do you think he made the kid sound 4hrs outside every day? Maybe 8hrs? Maybe his dad mage him sleep outside also so in 24hrs the kids was 20hrs outside? Did he take good phone away too? Did he so him reading books in school?.. so believing everything you hear, at most he could increase his fault time outside but 30-60min avg esp if the das has job family etc
@@maomekat2369 no phone buddy, it was the 90s
So you just have to train your eye to look from a far distance and it will improve? Or is there something more?
@@ineasud it's either that or has to do with natural light.
The cinematography behind this is fascinating
I sometimes feel like a freak of nature for being an adult with essentially having 20/20 vision. Like it's a mutant power that I am just able to "see" all the time without accessories.
Because almost everyone I know wears glasses/contacts or just deals with blurry vision. If mine is ever blurry it's due to another short term issue like a migraine or allergies.
*EDIT:* Don't be too jealous, I guess I traded near perfect vision for horrible sinuses. I'm jealous of everyone who doesn't get winded going up a flight of stairs bc they can breathe through their noses lol
Can you summarize your youth? With respect to time spent indoors and near-work?
Same bruh, almost all my friend are wearing glasses. I fell so lucky to have good eye.
Same, I work in manufacturing and part of the pre-employment physical included a sight and hearing test, and the doctor was almost stunned as I completed the eye chart... She kept insisting that I was wearing contacts without telling them, because "Kids cant see these days without them"
I have 20/20 vision until i was 19 and it was already better than most people with similar lifestyle as mine 😭 I'm sad but also feels kinda deserved lol. I can't live without screen since i write and draw digitally, and i do all my college assignment on a computer. It's impossible to stay 20/20 for me and I've accepted it
@@nickirkland1347 I also had 20/20 vision when I was 18 years old. Now, I'm 23 and bit myopic due to corona pandemic made me spend me more time indoors using mobile screens. Still I don't use glasses. I wish there's good prevention of this till adulthood
Atleast movies won't make makeover scenes where glasses are uncool cuz everyone is wearing em😂👓
Nowadays cool people in movies and shows wear glasses xd
@@Sunny.27 nowadays wearing glasses shows that your cool and badass secretly…
@@MariamArt_ yes like Heisenberg
@@ayat5483 true and don’t forget about Mads Mikkelson from Hannibal…lol
Amazed at how this much important info is packed in such short time !
Also I want to know your thoughts on Lasik / laser surgery for myopia correct?
I wasn't prepared for how informative this video would be. Thanks!
I’m an Optometrist. Thank you for this great presentation. People don’t seem to know about the light level impact on myopia, so I appreciate you getting the word out!
I'm really young and have high myopia. I'm really scared. idk how bad my life is going to be affected because of this.
@@almond3963 No need to panic. Just because myopia increases the chances of some other conditions, it does not mean you are guaranteed or even likely to have those conditions. And there may be some people with 20/20 vision who do get those conditions. Just take reasonable measures to maintain eye health and if there will be any bridges to cross, you'll cross them when you come to them.
I wish this video covered more about what adults who have had myopia since childhood can do to make their chances of worse disorders later in life smaller. Would lasik help? It sounds to me like it wouldn’t, but I don’t know much about this. I got all depressed after watching this cause I’ve had bad vision since I was a kid and now it’s telling me I’m probably gonna have cataracts or lose my vision completely when I get older lol
Being more diligent about the 20 min on/20 min off rule (in regards to upclose/computer work) is definitely good practice! In regards to reducing chances of retinal detachment, avoiding high-contact sports, bungee-jumping and roller coasters is a good idea 😅 cataracts will happen to everyone as we age. Keeping up with your yearly eye exams and asking your doctor all the questions is of course most ideal! Speaking as a -8 ophthalmology tech 😬
@@Viickatnite the 20/20 rule is nice and all, but if I followed that rule during high school I wouldn't have graduated because I was studying graphic design....
And, as many people have commented, I started needing glasses at the time I was most outside. Go figure...
i know :(
Same question. Does lasik lower the risk of developing complications like glaucoma? Or is it just fixing the near sightedness..??
@@Christian-wu3mp just fixing the nearsightedness as it reshapes the cornea. Your eye is still longer than it should be.
I went from very subtle astigmatism as a late teen to being moderately nearsighted, very quickly, in my mid-twenties. I still believe this is due to my night-shift editing job I got soon after college. I would have my face just a few inches from the screen a lot of the time to "focus" on the words and rarely ever saw the light of the sun. I had -2.5 myopia within just a few years. Strong believer that staring at things up close can cause this.
I spent my childhood outside and I still ended with myopia at -5.
I have done laser surgery 10 years ago and don’t regret it a bit.
It's not just "abusing" your eyesight that can cause this, there's also a number of eye diseases that can too. I have myopia thanks to uveitis, having never needed glasses prior. Some of us are just unlucky.
Obviously, but those diseases have not been increasing over the decades
@@ForzaOwnz Diagnosis of them may well have been. We're still working on getting healthcare to all the far off rural areas of the world.
and genetics too, everyone from my grandfather's side has bad vision since they were young
@@ForzaOwnzautoimmune disorders such as JIA and SLE that can cause inflammation of the eye HAVE been, though.
I got myopia when I was 16. Now I'm 21 and every time I went to the Ophthalmologist, my near-sightedness worsened. And this explained a lot, I always live in my home life in which I only stay in a very calm area or room that is mostly darker and always use a phone or tablet or reading books. Thanks to this video, I could change my routine (otherwise I'm definitely going to have some kind of disease later in my life). So thank you so much Vox.
It should stop worsening at about 21-22. I started getting nearsighted at the age of 8-9, it got stable at about 17-18. The Doctors said I could opt for LASIK after 22 because the eyesight tend to stablise past that age.
you also have to be careful of your eye doctor. some will annually Rx stronger and stronger corrective lens and that will make your myopia progress rapidly. I experienced this. I stopped going to that MD and then found a OD that actually knew to keep my Rx at a minimum and my myopia stabilized the rest of my adult life. conspiracy? maybe. be careful out there. 👁
No surprise if the optometrist was sold the idea that gene contribute to the eye sight deteriorating issue. Always a quick fix by the idealogy of "everything can be solve with money" but not the underlying issue of discussed in the video
Not to mention, ophthalmologists usually aren’t too focused on refractions like optometrists are
You most likely have keratoconus. Most opticians miss out on it because they don't own the $100,000+ Corneal Topography machine that can diagnose it. Please get screened for it and it can even lead to blindness.
Omg i faced retinal tears and underwent a barrage laser surgery and worsening vision in my 20s and i am guilty of spending hours reading stuff up close and time indoors. I will be making some serious lifestyle changes now. Better late than never, right? Thanks for this incredibly informative video, Vox!
I don't thnk bright lights do anything once you're older,
Doing Lasic was the single most important decision of my life. It is SO much worth it, and even tho the upfront cost is high, but over 5-10 years you would have spent that much of money on glasses/contacts too. The time I saved from putting in and out contacts every day alone is worth it, not even speaking about the freedom of vision after 20 years again.
Not worth it if you have any sensitivity to halos or need your night vision unaffected, all common side effects of laser corrective surgery, not to mention it doesn’t always give you 20/20 vision. In fact the people who have the worst cases of myopia will often still need corrective lenses in certain situations.
Shaving layers off your eyeballs to see better? No thanks. I'd rather pay money than risk serious complications.
@@Rachelllllll2024 It's extremely safe, go do some research I don't want to convince you. Just shared my personal experience and I am happier than every in my life.
@@MortyMortyMortybut it has some risks
@@Samzo2002 There is a risk you get struck by lighting if you go outside too.
A few years ago I worked as a substitute teacher in schools over 100 years old. The architects of those buildings probably thought they were benefiting students by giving them enormous windows to flood the classrooms with sunlight. But in every classroom the shades were closed tight and when I'd raise them, clouds of dust would fly off and the students would recoil like molemen and scream for me to lower them again. I'd ask them, "Don't you ever go outside and see the sun?"
I seem to recall reading that for most of the 1900s public education experts strongly believed children needed to have high levels of natural light in order to learn. Most elementary schools still seem to be designed with huge windows, but a lot of junior high and high schools have very few windows.
@@aliannarodriguez1581 It was definitely true for me. I did so much better in classrooms with lots of natural light. It was easier to focus and I had better recall of information. In dimly lit classrooms, the buzz and flicker of the fluorescent lights alone was sensorily exhausting. Plus lower light made me feel groggier.
There was no light bulbs and electricity back then.
In some countries, it's standard to build schools with massive windows lining two sides of the classroom, so that the kids get plenty of natural light. Places where it's common for classrooms to be windowless or for shades to be drawn all the times are hurting those students.
I have high myopia -10, most of my cousins and siblings do too. I’ve researched high myopia and found that the 2 biggest correlates are looking at things close by like books or smartphones, and educational level.
I spent a lot of time indoors as a child, watching tv or playing computer games. And I’ve been in university for 7 years, which makes sense.
Me and my sibs are all around -11.00. Our myopia is 100% genetic, a gift from our father.
im 16 and at -9
@@geraniaceae4470 You know, he gave you another gift as well. The most important gift of them all (the gift of life).
is there a fix for this?
@@geraniaceae4470 -11 glasses or -11 contacts?
This makes so much sense. Before education was mentioned, as soon as he said 'time indoors' I immediately thought of school; our whole education system and even 9-5 jobs are built around being indoors--so sad this wasn't known at the time, because I wish it could have been prevented 😭
Thanks for explaining this topic in a more detailed way and also showing the scale at which it has become an issue. I started where glasses for shortsightedness at age 10. My parents, eye sight has remained good. I have been using computers since 8. I have been predominately in inside professions. We were warned early on by our parents not to sit too close to the T.V.. I have taught ICT in workplaces and schools and this is part of healthy computing. I am now 50 and my Myopia has developed later than normal (Usually in peoples 30's in New Zealand). We now have children looking at screens at the age of 3 or 4. I unfortunately have never been offered any medical solutions except glasses and contact lenses. The special contact lenses mentioned in your article I only found out by, seeing and online medical advert. I was told they will not fix your downwards site. Unfortunately my downwards site is now at a stage, where it's next reduction, will require surgery to fix as the muscle that controls this, ceases to do it's job. I now have 3 pairs of glasses, one for screen, one for reading and one for normal functions like driving and walking, etc. I could not afford transition lenses and I also did not want them, due to their imprecision. Finally also not mentioned is the risks afforded to our environment, reduced blinking, smog and chemicals, injury and illnesses like diabetes. :)
@Hello there, how are you doing this blessed day?
Are there more people in northern developed countries who have myopia than there are in other developed countries? It would be interesting to look at the data in countries where sunlight is practically non-existent during the fall and winter months. Also, what about surgeries? LASIK is a popular solution, although with its own risks... This video was cut short! There's so much more that could have been talked about...!
I asked my doctor the same exact thing, “What about LASIK?” and he mentioned that while LASIK will modify the cornea to correct the focal point on the retina it doesn’t stop the elongation of the eyeball, so you’re still at risk of retinal detachment, etc
@@kdingo and before that there is a high possibility it will go bad gradually again and need glasses before the big curtain drop.
There’s a video on scishow about this same topic. Came out 7 years ago and has a little bit more information if you’re into the topic. Just search up slowly losing our eyesight scishow
There has been tons of research in the past years on myopia - and most importantly, the research deals with the causes and potential strategies to slow its progression down. You can never reverse it.... LASIK is a means of correcting myopia, but it does not represent a cure - it allows you to get up in the morning without (or rarely) needing glasses to see clearly at distance. The problem is that people who got LASIK often think they are "cured" and don't see their optometrist on a regular basis anymore - but they are at the same risk for retinal detachment due to eye elongation as they were before the surgery because the eye is still as long as before surgery (apart from the corneal cell layers removed during LASIK)....
Oooh. True. I wonder how warmer people be doing.
In my childhood I did play outdoors and had good vision. During highschool though once I started spending more time indoors and constantly use a phone or laptop for work my vision started to deteriorate. I had to get glasses by 18 yrs old. Now I'm 22 and this video just proved my theory of why my vision started going bad 😞
Great video
What is ur perscription?
Yesterday I went for an eye check up cause the distant objects were little bit blurry specially for the right eye(sph -0.25 which is really mild)..It was a relief that I was at early stage😅 so my doctor told me to increase outdoor activities and reduce my screen time. Whereas youtube reccomending me this video by Vox is such an eye opener🥲❤
I've always had this, unfortunately.
As a little kid, I would sit closer to the TV than my brothers because I found it hard to see clearly when I played video games. My parents thought that I had simply had a had a bad habit, but I was doing it out of need. In my early teens I got a prescription for glasses.
It got worse when I went into adult hood and what I heard in this video makes me understand why. As a kid I would be outside A LOT, running about, climbing, yata yata. However as an adult I am forced to be indoors more often and my jobs are around computer technology. Which as the video said is more about short range focus over long range focus and that feeds into the condition negatively.
Thanks for the informative video.
I've always had perfect vision growing up, but I suddenly had to start wearing glasses at age 19. Now I can't see much at all without my glasses. I used to spend more time outside, but a modern lifestyle doesn't allow for so much of it anymore. There was a noticeable difference in my vision coinciding with the switch to a more indoor, sedentary, and studious lifestyle.
I started getting bad eyesight at 10, but was too scared to tell my mom until eventually a teacher told my mom. She was very mad that my eyesight became bad even though I couldnt do much about it. At 12 I got glasses but I lost them and my parents couldn’t afford new ones so I didn’t get another pair for another year. My eyesight is terrible now, I wish I intervened earlier
Ironically its mostly your parents fault for not taking you outside enough... most ppl dont know though so not her fault.
You were a child. There was not much you could do about it - don't blame yourself for something you had no control over.
@@0xsergy yh my mom wouldnt allow me to go outside as much
@@GT-tj1qg thank you
I've usually been outside, but question, is there a way to like fix your eyesight completely without glasses or contacts? I haven't finished the video
I think other than the volume of light outdoors vs indoors, being outdoors also require you to have a higher situational awareness to see things around you and further into the horizon, requiring the muscles holding your lenses to stretch and contract (basically, exercise!) more, and with that flexibility, your eye health improves / doesn't degrade as fast.
Come to think of it, since transitioning to working from home full time, my eyesight has deteriorated quite a bit over the last 5 years as I no longer need to drive during the daily commute. When I do travel, I'm usually not driving, and the destination is another building confined by four walls, so this explains A LOT. Dang. I need to go to the park more!
Incidentally, in my family of four siblings, the two who regularly wear their glasses 24/7 and the other two who wear it infrequently and only when needed (i.e. reading) saw very drastically different pace of eye degradation. Could our dependence on corrective lenses be a contributing factor to this rise in myopia?
Note: I'm saying it's a CONTRIBUTING factor, not the only one. And I'm asking, not declaring it as a fact. Food for thought.
Thank you, this is so important 🙏
Now, this was educational. Even though I've been myopic for well over half a century, I never knew about the added risks for serious problems like retinal detachment, or the connection to getting enough sunlight.
I love reading as a kid and would almost always be doing near work, but because I grew up in a rural area with rotating blackouts, I often had to read outside, in daylight, to save on energy. My eyesight was 20/20 until I got working in front of computers when I slowly became myopic. During the pandemic, when I had to stay indoors almost all the time, my vision became even worse and I had to change glasses in a span of a year. I attributed it to age and mere computer work but this video made me realize that it's also about spending so much time indoors. Thanks to this video, maybe I can slow down the progress of my myopia or at least have a better quality of life by spending more time outside.
I am 22 seconds into the video and I just wanna say I am so impressed by the camera skills, editing skills, creativity, its just blowing my mind
It's all but been confirmed that it's due to light exposure. There are several studies that make very strong cases for it. The problem is, none of them describe what type of light is important to get exposure to. Does UV light need to enter the retina? What type of UV? What wavelengths are best? Is it just overall exposure (brightness/intensity) and can sunglasses interfere with that?
lol i wonder if we can play blast lights in rooms (because reality is alot of time spent is people in a room doing work).
thats stuff that isnt known yet and wont be for some time.
You can just look up "380nm protection myopia" on google and you'll likely find studies
I've long speculated that sunglasses harm vision. We evolved without them and now most people spend less time outdoors then ever. I'm not a doctor but my guess is that minimal use of sunglasses would have the best health outcomes unless you're someone who spends most of your waking hours in full sun.
@@jonathankittrell170 lol, I never used sunglass until adulthood and I already got myopia when I'm at elementary school.
Anyone else had their eyesights worsen during the pandemic? Both my parents have perfect vision, so did my sister & I. But after 2+ years of staying indoors so much my sister’s eyesight became worse than those of my parents - who are nearly 60. I also feel my eyesight got worse but luckily not much. I wonder how it is with kids/teenagers
I have. As a neurodivergent individual, it also affects me more than most.
did you take the poison shots?
Go and get it checked out, I noticed way worse eyesight and it turns out that I had a condition that was gradual over time called keratoconus which cannot be fixed but can be stopped. Earlier the better because there are less invasive options. An ophthalmologist should be able to spot it easily in a routine check up.
Lol I really doubt it you also probably didn't actually stay inside for 2+ years
@@21cup Kertaoconus can be improved, but the risk is higher then the reward in most cases and thats with a Cornea transplant(PK/DALK/EK) it will never able to restore your vision back to full but it will be able with it and RGP/Hard Lens restore your eyesight up to visus 20/40(0.5) then sometimes better.. But as said risk is higher and reward and mostly offered to people who has advance kertaoconus that cant wear lenses.
Well done. This was a legitimately good and informative video.
Wow thank you so much for these videos Vox
I just love how you tend to end on a positive note, whatever the topic. We need that. Our societies are learning and progressing, despite sometimes feeling otherwise.
Omg Brilliant video 🎉 very good editing and storytelling! And true!!!
Thank you for raising this issue. It is very inconvenience. Luckily i can still see clearly when playing sports or driving.
such an important video!!! love how you gave compelling facts, well thought out reasons, and solutions!! let’s get our kids outside!!!
I also got my first pair of glasses at age 12. But luckily my vision stabilised then and twenty years later I'm still at the same mild degree of nearsightedness. I only ever need my glasses at the movies or at the back of a classroom.
I mainly wore glasses until my 15th birthday, after that I got lenses that work in the night. I sometimes need glasses too see but only -1.00 or -1.50 to see. It also depends of how you sleep.
If it's 0.25 or 0.5, it's probably not even real myopia at all.
lucky lol
yeah, my eyesight has barely changed by like .5 every few years.
You are lucky. I didn't need glasses before going to college but in mere 5 years my eyesight has deteriorated so fast, it went from less than 1 to more than 2 and is still worsening.
awesome insights! Thank you! You've earned my subscription
I remember when this research first appeared in public media some years ago. Helps explain why I've been myopic since primary school as I often preferred o be inside reading than outside.
It also has interesting implications for science fiction writers because any future human society that has to grow up without sunlight is going to be very myopic.
I have somewhat strong myopia (-5.25 and -5.00) - I appreciate this video talking about how having a strong myopia can affect more than just your eyesight in the event your myopia is caused by the shape of your eyeballs... A routine retinal exam for me found 1 tiny retinal hole, which two years later became several retinal holes and increased lattice degeneration, which a few months later came my first symptoms of fluid infiltration through these holes (photopsias and shadows) and I have had to have laser photocoagulation treatments a few times to decrease risk of retinal detachment.
Strong myopia is a serious problem and it's so important to go beyond visual exams and get your retinas checked regularly ! For everyone but especially for highly myopic people.
That was exact vision pre-LASIK (flipped, -5.00/-5.25). Now corrected to -.50/.-1.00. Have you considered LASIK?
I don't want to go blind 😭
😢❤
Cool video!
I wear multifocal contact lenses when I'm out at work since I'm both near-sighted and far-sighted (+ I have an aversion to glasses).
They get somewhat annoying when trying to read small text since they are designed to where you have to use your peripheral vision to focus up close...which, I haven't mastered the art of reading with my peripherals.
I hope they are actually helping out with my nearsightedness though.
This is brilliant. Thank you.
As someone who lives in Taiwan, seeing small children playing on phones all day wearing big glasses is saddening.
This touches me way much more than I would hope. I got my own glasses last November but knowing that this might just not be genetic randomness makes me sadden a bit.
Growing up I always thought that my blurry vision is a disability, but it's so common that it's not considered as one. It just always bothered me when paying for expensive perception glasses whilst a person with fortunate with good vision gets to see for free.
Fascinating, thank you for this video
I’m 18, and only got my glasses last week. I was always proud of my eyesight, but I guess it was bound to happen, especially since both my parents wear glasses.
I got lasix in 2009. Literally one of my best decisions ever. Yes I need reading glasses but far less than most and I can see everything else still. I’m 56.
Thank you for adding this to my list of worries
Can relate. Worked an office job and after... two years? needed some form of glasses for driving.
Lost the job and during my months of unemployment didn't spend time inside or in front of a computer as much, found I could easily read other license plates or road signs without glasses.
New job and after maybe a month my need for the glasses for nearsightedness came right back.
Oh god. I have a severe case of nearsightedness, and I absolutely hate being outdoors (have several nature allergies, hate getting too hot and bothered, and hate the glaring sun). This answers quite a bit. I really wish there was a better solution than going outside.
Define severe. Too many people think -3 diopters is severe. If you're -6 or better and are older, I would say don't sweat it. If not...good luck I guess,
I spent more time indoors growing up than my brother did. I was also more studious looking at things up close such as books. I wear glasses and he doesn't. So it seems that this report is consistent with my experience.
As a fellow person using spectacles. Sitting on the train watching this video. Like around, almost everyone has glasses… Truly is a pandemic. Anyone remember when tv networks did “a day of play”. Encouraging kids to go out. That should apply to social media and streaming platforms now. At least once a month, we can change the future. But only if we want to.
I always had 20/20 vision until last year. I only have a small prescription but makes a big difference to me when wearing my glasses. I'm 19 and hope my vision doesn't get worse because of this.
Someone has to invent an eyeball shortener
I'm the heaviest phone/computer user in my family and yet I was the last one to need glasses. Myopia hit me hard because it happened so fast-my transition from normal vision to near-sightedness happened just over a few days.
same
I have - 3 myopia, I spent all my childhood outdoors, I'm from Algeria, we didn't have indoor devices to look at, we didn't even have a TV! Same with my friends at that time.
Most of us have myopia now, I really don't think it's because of spending time indoor.
One of my friends has 10/10 vision, he spent his life indoor front of screen playing games all day and night.
I had to start wearing glasses just a year or so before I entered 5th-6th grade school. My parents and I tried really hard to get me out of the house as much as possible by getting me involved in some outdoor activities that the schools weren’t providing back in the early 2000’s. Both attempts failed catastrophically. One was horseback riding where someone stole both mine and my mother’s horse from my parents company grounds. The second was Tennis where I fell ill twice… The first time I had a terrible fever for about a week, and when I finally got back into it, I was falling far behind, and two weeks in I was put in with another much younger and much more inexperienced group. And the second time was Denge, which, while it was treated, left a side effect that caused some serious skin problems I’m still dealing with today.
I intend on homeschooling my kids so I will definitely emphasize outdoor recreation. I spent every summer as a kid on my bike it is still one of my favorite activities.
Some 600m distance away from my window a tall hill looms over our entire neighborhood. As I grew taller throughout childhood, I progressively started to see the hill and the tops of apartment blocks from my window. One day when I was 6, as I was enjoying the view, I clearly remember asking my dad who was sitting next to me why "is the hill foggy". He told me that it's normal because the hill was too far away. Fast forward two years later, at the beginning of the 2nd grade my teacher had to call my parents telling them that I can't write anything from the blackboard, not even from the first row, so every time I needed to take notes I just walked right up to the blackboard which was humiliating. That weekend we paid the optician a visit and found out that I had myopia with diopters over -3. Now I'm almost 19 and have -7.25 on one eye and -7.50 on the other. Please, parents and future parents, PLEASE take your child to an optician at the smallest doubt you have about their sight. Or better yet, just take them to routine controls, and not only for their eyesight, but for everything that concerns their health.