Tech
NYT Asks: Do Blue-Light Glasses Work?
Folks, people are wearing blue-light glasses, and the New York Times is on it.
In a hard-hitting exposé in the Style section, the Grey Lady perceptively notes that blue-light glasses have gotten more widespread in the past year, as quarantining has forced people to spend more time in front of their computer screens. The article goes on to interview “experts,” most of whom agree that blue-light glasses, most of which are laughably inexpensive, are nonetheless a waste of money.
Look, I’m not here to tell you that the $10 specs you bought from some random Chinese factory on the internet are actually exactly what you need to relieve eye strain and improve your sleep. I got so-called computer glasses years ago, and I’m under no illusions that they’ve done anything whatsoever for my ocular health.
But that’s kind of the point—what is the Times doing pretending that this is some sort of new trend? For years, people have been telling themselves that this magic eyewear from the internet will absolve them of the guilt that comes from being enslaved to their laptops and smartphones. Everybody knows that spending too much time glued to a screen is bad for them, but just like with the gazillion dollar pharmaceutical industry, they’d prefer throwing money at a problem as opposed to addressing the root issue. Welcome to America.
The most striking thing about the paper of record’s feigned credulity on the topic of blue-light glasses is that the very question was addressed in the Wirecutter, all the way back in 2017. For those keeping score at home, the New York Times purchased the Wirecutter in 2016. I’m not sure what new research needed to be conducted in 2021, when navigating to this helpful URL would have done the trick: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/what-are-computer-glasses-and-do-they-work/
Or if you don’t want to waste time reading regurgitated “news” articles, you could just spend the sawbuck and make the decision for yourself. Go right ahead: there’s nothing stopping you.