Ok I get we all look at small letters and images on screens and paper these days. Is this why in the last 150 years or so millions and millions of humans need spectacles? Is it because we are meant to be looking at things from a distance rather than nearby so our eyes haven’t caught up?
In: Biology
It turns out that childhood exposure to sunshine is critical for the development of our vision. Kids need to be outside to prevent myopia; the artificial light we currently use just doesn’t cut it: too dim and not enough of the right frequencies of light.
The switch to universal schooling meant that kids were spending large parts of the daytime under roofs and artificial light. The recent change to helicopter parenting and kids addicted to screens mean that they are spending even less time outside. (In my youth, we put blame on reading too many books, but it turns out that the problem was too much time inside reading.)
Myopia was less of a problem for our ancestors because they spent their entire lives outside under the sun.
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_benefit_of_daylight_for_our_eyesight
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