It’s 2021, and technology and medical science are at their peak. Thanks to the evolution of medical science, which has developed the most advanced type of eyewear in this era. Yes, we’re talking about contact lenses. Today’s contact lenses have gotten too advanced from previous generations. We’ll talk about it later in the article.
However, have you ever considered why today’s contact lenses are getting more popular in today’s new or so-called “strawberry generation”? There are numerous reasons why contact lenses online are getting so popular in the strawberry generation (young generation). We’ve written this article specifically on what makes today’s modern contact lenses popular in the strawberry generation.
Continue reading the article below:
What are Contact Lenses
Before getting deep into the article, you might need to know what a contact lens is. Because we know some of our readers might not know about it or have very little knowledge about contact lenses.
In straightforward language, you can say that contact lenses are the alternative or advanced version of eyeglasses. They carry considerably more advantages over eyeglasses. That’s why only in Singapore did contact lens sales rose to 9% within 1 year.
First of all, you don’t need to carry a big piece of weight on your nose and your ears in contact lenses. Lenses usually weigh about 1-1.7 grams hardly. So you can say their weight is almost negligible.
Secondly, they cover the whole peripheral vision of your eyes, and there’s no blind spot in contact lenses. There’re many other advantages of contact lenses, and we’ll talk about them later in the article.
What Are Contact Lenses Made Of?
So basically, contact lenses are made up of plastic. No, we’re not talking about the regular plastic used in plastic bags, plates or toys. In the previous generation, contact lenses were made up of standard PVC, which was not good for the eyes. PVC contact lenses cause redness in the eyes, itching, and dark circles if worn for more than 8 hours non-stop.
However, soft and non-allergic plastic is used in today’s contact lenses, known as hydrophilic plastic. This type of plastic remains soft, flexible and moist as long as it keeps in contact with salty water. Another benefit of hydrophilic plastics is that this material is non-toxic to the eyes, non-allergic and doesn’t harm eyes in any way.
Not just that, modern contact lenses are coated with about 3-4 protective layers that prevent the contact lens from reacting with external weather such as sunlight, moisture in air and oxidation.
Are Contact Lenses Popular in the Strawberry Generation?
So the straightforward answer is yes! They are popular in today’s strawberry generation. Numerous reasons make the strawberry generation shift from regular eyeglasses towards modern contact lenses. .
Moreover, some technological advancements have also played a significant role in the popularity of contact lenses in this generation. Below we’ve talked about some highlighted reasons why contact lenses are popular in strawberry youngsters:
Lightweight
The most highlighted reason why contact lenses are popular among youngsters is that they are lightweight. Compared to regular eyeglasses, no matter how thin the frame is, they can never beat the contact lenses in terms of weight.
Regular eyeglasses weigh about 15-25 grams, whereas contact lenses merely weigh about 0.5-1.5 grams. Hence, there’s a big difference between both tools. Moreover, eyeglasses can’t be worn all the time, especially while sleeping. But, today’s modern contact lenses are fine if you wear them while sleeping.
Comfortable
The comfortability of contact lenses makes the strawberry generation get attracted to contact lenses. First of all, you don’t need to hold a big piece of plastic and metal weight on your ears and nose (really annoying). Secondly, contact lenses have no blind spots. Instead, they cover your eyes’ whole peripheral vision, making them more comfortable in the image than regular eyeglasses.
According to the survey WebMD, 70% of eyeglasses users prefer to wear contact lenses because they’re far more comfortable, lightweight than eyeglasses, and no one knows if they’re wearing vision-correcting eyewear or not. Moreover, eyeglasses can leave a black mark on your nose and your ears in the long term (not suitable for your looks as well). In comparison, contact lenses don’t carry such a problem.
Invisibility
Of course, eyeglasses are not hidden eyewear that you will wear, and nobody will notice it—especially the strawberry generation, which are more conscious of their looks and style. But, eyeglasses ruin the face and give a vibe of a nerd. It’s because eyeglasses are usually associated with brilliant and nerdy students. That’s why the strawberry generation typically doesn’t prefer to wear eyeglasses unless they have a vision problem.
However, contact lenses also work the same as vision-correcting eyeglasses. They are also used as vision-correcting eyewear, just like your eyeglasses. Plus, they provide better visibility, and they don’t need multiple numbers on every angle, unlike eyeglasses. However, the most significant advantage of contact lenses is that they are invisible. No one can notice that you’re wearing eyewear unless they come close and focus on your eyes purposely. Otherwise, in a typical scenario’s contact lenses are invisible to other people because they’re merely noticeable.
Contact Lenses as a Cosmetic
We know that most of our readers did not realize that contact lenses are only used to correct your vision. The cosmetic industry covers 50% of the contact lenses market. A tremendous amount of contact lenses are today being used for fashion purposes.
They cover 50% of the share in this industry. The main reason for the popularity of contact lenses in the cosmetic industry is the use of contact lenses in Hollywood movies, modelling and social media influencers.
How Cosmetic Contact Lenses are Used
So basically, in cosmetics, they’re used to change the eyeball colours. They’re different from vision-correcting lenses. Unlike vision-correcting eyewear in which the lenses are adjusted to fix the eye’s vision, the cosmetic ones are specifically focused on providing the actual image, and light doesn’t reflect from them in any way because they’re not intended for vision correction.
Now here comes the primary process, which changes eyeball colour. You might have seen people wearing coloured contact lenses, which change their eyeballs colouring. Currently, these contact lenses come in more than 30 different colour options for your eyeglass. But, you might be astonished that cosmetic contact lenses have only two colours; faint flecks of light blue or green. The manufacturers mix these two colours in a variation that can accentuate your natural eye colour when worn. That’s how these cosmetic contact lenses are made and work.
Sum Up
So we’ve mentioned some of the most highlighted reasons: making the contact lenses popular among teens, or you call them the strawberry generation. Unbelievably, the market of contact lenses worldwide has drastically increased due to the increasing demand for contact lenses by the strawberry generation. To be pre precise, only in 2020, about 136 million contact lenses were sold worldwide, which is 3x higher than the sales in 2018.
Essential Things To Consider Before Buying Contact Lenses
Now, you’ve read the reasons behind the popularity of contact lenses in this era (especially among the strawberry or young generation).
However, contact lenses are not like Apple Pie, where you can go to an optical store and buy any contact lens of your choice.
There are many things to consider before buying a prescribed or cosmetic contact lens. Below is our guide for it:
Types of Contact Lenses
First of all, note that contact lenses come in various options. However, typically two types of contact lenses are used in the world: soft contact lens and hard contact lenses.
Soft Contact Lense
The soft contact lens is commonly used for cosmetic purposes. Because they provide more clear vision and don’t reflect the light beam. Hence, a soft lens is perfect for decorative purposes and those who don’t have any vision issues.
Hard Contact Lense
On the other side, hard contact lenses are usually used as vision-correcting eyewear. It means they must be prescribed by the doctor and traditionally used as a replacement for eyeglasses. They can change the light beam direction. This ability makes them perfect for vision-correcting eyewear.
Non-disposable and Disposable Contact Lenses
Now, besides the hard and soft lenses, there’s one more type of non-disposable and disposable contact lenses.
Non-disposable
You can use Non-disposable contact lenses for the long term. No, it doesn’t mean you can use them for your whole life like eyeglasses. Non-disposable lenses also need to be disposed of after a long period. The usual standard period for non-disposable lenses is six months.
It means any contact lens which doesn’t need to be disposed of before six months is considered a non-disposable contact lens. They’re usually expensive, but in the long term, they’re cheaper than disposable contact lenses.
Disposable
As the name says it all, these contact lenses are disposable and need to be disposed of in a specific period. A standardized period of disposable contact lenses is under six months.
It means any contact lenses which need to be disposed of before six months, like in a week, day, month, six months, etc. Such types of contact lenses are considered disposable contact lenses.
They cost less but, of course, have a shorter life expectancy than non-disposable lenses.