Busting Myths About Eyes and Vision

www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/common-eye-vision-myths-facts

Ever watched an episode of the MythBusters (2003-2016)? MythBusters was an Australian-American science entertainment television series that tested the validity of internet rumours, movie scenes, popular myths, and urban legends. The hosts of the show, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, conducted experiments to prove myths as ‘busted’, ‘plausible’, or ‘confirmed’. Similarly, WiF will be sharing research in this article to prove common myths about eyes and vision as ‘busted’, ‘plausible’, or ‘confirmed’. Today, we will be looking at the following myths: wearing glasses makes your eyesight worse, looking at screens for too long permanently damages your eyes, and eating carrots improves your vision.

The first myth we will examine today is the myth that wearing glasses makes your eyesight worse. Many people believe that glasses must make our vision worse because people tend to need stronger eyeglass prescriptions over time. However, the need for a stronger eyeglass prescription stems from various factors like age, genetics, and behaviour. For example, the lenses in your eyes are prone to changing shape and losing flexibility as you age, which makes it more difficult for light to reach the back of the retina, explaining why vision gets worse with age regardless of whether you wear glasses or not. Furthermore, many eye conditions or diseases worsen naturally over time, such as myopia or age-related presbyopia. In conclusion, wearing glasses does not weaken your eyesight. In fact, avoiding them may actually be the contributor to vision problems over time, as uncorrected vision can lead to eye strain and squinting, which result in damaging side effects. Therefore, the myth that wearing glasses worsens eyesight is busted!

The second myth that we will be looking into is the myth that looking at screens for too long permanently damages your eyes. Firstly, what even happens to our eyes when we stare at the screen? Staring at the screen puts strain on our eyes because they need to work hard to focus on the words and images on our devices. This may result in ‘digital eye strain’, which can cause the following: blurry vision, dry and irritated eyes, headaches, pain in the neck and shoulder, and difficulty focusing. Although digital eye strain can have a big impact on how we go about our everyday lives, it does not result in permanent eye damage. Moreover, the blue light emissions that many of us worry will forever damage our eyes have not yet been proven to cause any lasting damage. However, excessive use of screens can disturb sleeping patterns and cause fatigue, impacting our general health and well-being for an indefinite period of time. Furthermore, risk factors like conditions, poor viewing habits, and age can exacerbate the effects of prolonged screen time. Therefore, because the effects of blue light emissions are still largely unknown, as well as how screens more seriously impact certain individuals, the myth that looking at screens for too long permanently damages your eyes is plausible!

The third and final myth that we will be investigating is the myth that eating carrots improves vision. Carrots themselves are nothing special––it’s the nutrients in them that impact your eyesight, specifically vitamin A. Jill Koury, an American ophthalmologist, explained that vitamin A in normal, recommended amounts is crucial for maintaining good vision (Myth or Fact: Eating Carrots Improves Eyesight, 2013). In fact, prolonged vitamin A deficiency can result in the deterioration of the outer segments of the photoreceptors in your eyes! However, only a small amount of vitamin A is needed to protect your vision, and carrots are not the only source of it. Vitamin A can be obtained through several kinds of leafy greens, colourful vegetables, dairy, and fish. Therefore, vitamin A is not the most significant contributor to good eyesight, and carrots are not unique in that they contain this beneficial nutrient. Most importantly, vitamin A will not miraculously improve your vision or prevent the need for correction. Therefore, keeping in consideration the small role of vitamin A and the many different foods that it can be sourced from, the myth that eating carrots improves vision is plausible at best!

This concludes WiF’s special ‘episode’ of MythBusters! Today, we evaluated the validity of three myths: wearing glasses makes your eyesight worse, looking at screens for too long permanently damages your eyes, and eating carrots improves your vision. Through research, it was revealed that the myth that wearing glasses makes your eyesight worse is not true, and the myths that looking at screens for too long permanently damages your eyes and eating carrots improves your vision may be true depending on factors like circumstance. Thank you for tuning in! 

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Sources

“20 Eye and Vision Myths.” American Academy of Ophthalmology, 8 July 2024,

www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/common-eye-vision-myths-facts. 

Dowling, Brian, editor. “Does Wearing Glasses Make Your Eyesight Worse?” Warby

Parker: Eyewear a to Z, uploaded by Warby Parker: Eyewear A to Z, 9 Dec. 2024,

www.warbyparker.com/learn/do-glasses-make-eyesight-worse. Accessed 8

Mar. 2026.

“Myth or Fact: Eating Carrots Improves Eyesight.” Duke Health,

www.dukehealth.org/blog/myth-or-fact-eating-carrots-improves-

eyesight. 

Rohit-Seo, et al. “Can Too Much Screen Time Lead to Permanent Eye Damage?”

Clarity Laser Vision, 26 June 2025, www.claritylaservision.com/can-too-much-

screen-time-lead-to-permanent-eye-damage.