Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/01/20/these-blue-light-blocking-glasses-are-here-to-protect-your-eyes-from-the-screens-you-look-at-all-day-long.html
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I only buy crappy blue blocker shades if they are pitched by a free-style rapper in a Sombrero…
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I’ve been hearing this for years now. It still sounds like a bunch of bullshit that eyeglass shops can use to charge you more for blue blocking lens coatings.
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I have not owned these glasses, so cannot attest to whether they work or not.
I will say this: I have met plenty of techies who wear them.
Whenever I meet one, I quickly learn that they are total dorks.
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Really?
A) The link is to an online news letter, not an academic paper
B) None of the following terms exist on the linked page: macular degeneration, eyestrain, dryness, eye fatigue, blurred vision, migraines.
Meanwhile, this Harvard Health blogpost says:
The bottom line
Blue light from electronic devices is not going to increase the risk of macular degeneration or harm any other part of the eye.
At this point I think there is a good possibility that Stack Social has crossed the line from puffery into outright fraud, and is doing so in BoingBoing’s name.
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We’ve been in this territory before. CBD and holistic remedies have also appeared before on these pages.
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In this case I’m not referring to woo marketing in general, but making very specific concrete health claims with attribution to a reputable source, claims that are not only not at the link, but are actually refuted elsewhere by the same source. That’s why I think Stack Social may have crossed the line from puffery into actual fraud.
I’d say there’s no wiggle room in this case, no “some people think” or “this may” or “this random testimonial says”, no vagaries to hide behind, no weasel words or disclaimers to make excuses in the small print. The link straight up doesn’t say what stack social says it says. And Harvard straight up says blue screens do not cause eye damage.
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I dont know much about the phooey quacky health claims, but the ‘blublocker’ ones that actually, really block blue light (most do not really block blue light) make really good sunglasses. Even if it makes the world look like you are on venus.
Maybe especially because it makes the world look like you are on venus.
That’s cause it is! (The only bit that’s remotely possibly true is that blue light might impact melatonin production near bedtime - though I’ve seen some research that threw cold water on that claim, too*.) Claims about it causing eye problems are just silly.
“You could say most phones are rectangular and phones cause eye strain, so therefore, it’s the rectangular shape of the screen that causes the eye strain,” he says. That statement would work along the same faulty logic that blue-light-blocking eyeglasses do.
(That’s it - I’m going to start selling my own product that adds a paper cut-out on top of screens, so it breaks up the rectangular shape and saves your eyes!)
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/what-science-says-about-blue-light-blocking-glasses
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Nothing says quality like having your product hyped by a guy doing random 3 Stooges impressions.
Yes, this. I’ve preferred yellow lensed sunglasses forever.
Plus they work in lower light to prevent glare when driving (e.g. all those badly adjusted LED/halogen headlamps at eye height in the monster SUVs these days).
Well tell us optical density so we know how good they are at actually attenuating blue light, cause that orange tint doesn’t mean anything. Not that I believe or second these even remotely necessary for displays.
We tested our new ultra supreme blue blocker lenses on these three unwashed, pallid skinned cave dwelling senior software developers during their latest all-weekend programming jag! So let’s look in and see how they’re doing!
“So guys, how… Um…”
“ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz…”
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