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Comment by toast0 | Hacker News Reader

Sure, but as someone with myopia, I can easily see it the other way.

The more kids difficulty kids had seeing at distance, the less likely they were to spend outside.

Once I started wearing glasses, swimming / pool time was less fun cause I can't see. Other sports were fine with glasses, but sometimes they fly off and maybe get damaged which is a big deal and dampers enthusiasm. Some amusement parks are real strict about not wearing glasses and roller coasters are less fun when you can't see. Etc

I guess I'll just hang out inside with books and computers, thanks.

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> The more kids difficulty kids had seeing at distance, the less likely they were to spend outside.

This is logical, but the evidence still points to something environmental causing a major shift in levels of myopia. In one generation the rate of myopia in some countries went from 20% to 80%[0]. This means that it isn't genetic, something environmental must have changed to cause this.

[0] https://archive.ph/9TlOG

On the other hand:

By the time I was...probably about 12, my myopia was bad enough that I could no longer read without glasses (or without holding the book uncomfortably close to my face). Similarly, attempting to interact with a screen would've been impractical, because it's all fine detail.

Outdoors, however, most things that I would need to care about were large enough that I could see them just fine. I wouldn't have had much trouble, for instance, playing soccer without my glasses on, because I didn't need to care which face was which or even the numbers on the backs of the shirts—I just needed to see the colors of the shirts, and the position of the ball, well enough to maneuver between them. (Well, I wouldn't have had trouble due to my myopia. The trouble I had playing soccer was from a different source.)

...I have literally never encountered an amusement park where I couldn't wear my glasses. It seems to me that if there's really a danger, they should provide some kind of protection for you.

There are amusement parks that don’t allow non-prescription sunglasses on rides. But sometimes the operators don’t ask if they’re prescription, and you need to tell them that your sunglasses are prescription.

For swimming, you can get prescription goggles. That makes snorkeling a completely different experience, you can actually _see_ things on the seafloor.

For other types of sports, you can wear contact lenses. Even if you're not comfortable wearing them all the time (I certainly am).

Last year I decided to get a laser eye surgery (PRK), and I'm now enjoying clear vision without glasses.

Yes, I can, but 6th grader me couldn't.

Actually nicer are cheap goggles from amazon with a close enough prescription, because they're cheap.

I'm not sticking contacts or lasers in my eyes either, thanks.

Regarding swimming, you could get prescription goggles

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