Abstract
Purpose :
Many retailers advertise eyeglasses that filter out blue light from digital devices to prevent eye problems, despite the lack of scientific evidence and contradictory claims that blue light from digital devices cause any eye disease. Patients use search engines to learn about topics such as blue light filtering eyeglasses that are advertised or offered to them. In this study, we characterize the Google search term frequency patterns for insight into the increasing popularity of blue light filtering eyeglasses.
Methods :
We conducted a retrospective search query analysis using Google Trends (GT) for the search term “blue light glasses,” and “glasses” as a control. Queries were restricted to web search queries in all categories by Google users in the United States (US), from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020. GT search term interest over time is provided as relative query frequency (RQF), which is the interest relative to the peak popularity of the search term for the given region and time period.
Results :
There is a pattern of exponentially increased searches for “blue light glasses” since December 2015, with peak popularity in September 2020. The increased RQF in January 2019 (26) and April 2020 (71) may correlate with the total lunar eclipse in the US on January 20-21, 2019, and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that had many people transition to using digital devices for work and school from home, respectively. The September 2020 peak popularity may correlate with the beginning of the academic year.
The GT pattern for the search term “glasses” was analyzed to determine if the dates of the increased RQFs for “blue light glasses” corresponded to similar dates for “glasses.” GT showed a positive linear trend in searches for “glasses”, with peak popularity in August 2017, which may be associated with the total solar eclipse in the US on August 21, 2017.
Conclusions :
Although there is a lack of evidence that blue light from digital devices cause eye disease and that blue light filtering eyeglasses can prevent these eye problems, there is a trend of increasing searches for blue light glasses over time. Retailers increasingly continue to advertise and sell blue light filtering eyeglasses; ophthalmologists should be aware of this trend and educate their patients and the public on the lack of evidence for such eyeglasses, and instead focus on healthy habits that can help prevent eye strain from using digital devices.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.