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Yeah for Glasses Wearers!
I’ve had glasses since 4th grade. When you have something on your face for that long, it becomes part of your physical appearance. You stop seeing the glasses in the mirror and just see your face. When I wear contacts, I feel like my face looks puffy and deformed- like there is something missing. And in a sense, there is. My glasses are a part of me- I define myself as a “glasses-wearer.” When people meet me, I wonder if they look at me and prominently see the glasses. Do the glasses eventually fade into my face for other people like they do to me? Or do people always see my glasses and me as separate entities?
There are so many different types of technology that help people so much. There are so many different types of eye-correction technology, from simple glasses to laser surgery. For me, I will always, always have glasses. This technology really is a part of me, and I lose one of my senses without them.
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Comments
Different Experiences
ekthorp, as someone who has worn glasses since second grade and contacts since eight grade, I see your point about feeling as though they become a part of you. However, though I have awful vision without either my contacts or glasses on, I feel more comfortable without them. I don't feel as though they are a part of my body. My glasses become a nuissance, while playing sports, or merely in the heat when I feel more than ever that they are NOT a part of my body. Contacts, on the other hand, were like my savior from glasses. They are my ability for an easier life in sports and comfort. However, even contacts don't feel as though they "naturally" become a part of my body. I have worn them for years now, and still they give me discomfort/I can feel something between my body and my contacts, a barrier of a sort. When I am tired, my contacts feel separated from my eyes, I have to take them out. However, when I don't have either glasses or contacts in, I am more comfortable, I feel more natural.
That is, I am not denying that they are, currently, necessary for my survival. However, as I mentioned in class, would they be necessary for my survival, if it weren't for their existence in the first place? Another thing, I feel as though if my contacts or glasses were "naturally" a part of my body, I would get as much of a shock in their absence as I would with the disappearance of a leg.
Better off with or without?
Another thing about contacts and glasses (that's true for at least me, and many other people I know) is that you have to keep constantly updating prescriptions, about every other year or so. But I have heard people say that if you don't wear corrective lenses that often then it's not necessary, because you're not making your eyesight worse. Assuming that this is true, dependence on technology makes us depend on technology even more. Though I'm pretty sure that's a myth, it's kind of a scary thought. And easy to believe, about as easy as pop psychology like "humans only use 10% of their brains."
I don't know if I could survive very long without corrective lenses. Without them, I can't read what I am currently typing, and I'm horrible at facial recognition. I wouldn't be able to do very well in class or at work without them. I remember the first time I got glasses and suddenly I was able to understand how people could read the chalkboard from so far away, and that I could see individual hairs on the back of people heads as opposed to a matte blur. I don't think I would be able to survive without my glasses--for one thing, I wouldn't be legally allowed to drive. While I might not need to do that now a lot, it is something that I anticipate needing in the future. More relevant: slipping on black ice. Ouch.
technology requires more technology
What you are discussing here, to me, shows just how much the use of technology "makes us depend on technology even more". Besides the example you gave with regards to corrective lenses requiring us to get new prescriptions, there exists many other cases that show how the use of technology can be a negative process. The invention of the telephone allowed people to speak from further distances, rather than seeing each other in person. The invention of cars allowed people to move far away from their families and friends, and the invention of airplanes did the same, but in a larger context. Yet, again, without the technology that exists today you wouldn't need your eye-sight for all of the complex processes you have described above. You wouldn't have to drive, because there would be no cars, you wouldn't have to see a chalkboard without the writing utensils that allowed for this. And without your contacts, maybe your vision would have never deteriorated to the point it has. I am not arguing that life would be easier with your vision, if technology didn't exist to the extent it does today. However, how can we know that this wouldn't be the case?
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