From seeing the faces of loved ones, to watching the sun come up and go down — these are a few things that Americans will most miss seeing if they lose sight. A new survey of 2000 Americans found respondents also would miss seeing their childs milestones (26%), nature (23%), their pets (22%), and their favorite TV shows/movies (15%).
When asked which of their five senses is the most important for them, sight came in first, receiving 77% of the votes. The other senses, like hearing (14%), touch (6%), smell (2%) and taste (1%), were far behind. With this in mind, it is not surprising that 65% want to care more about their eyes, and an additional 58% think their vision is taken for granted.
The survey, conducted for NVISION by OnePoll, also found the average person starts to care about their eyesight when they are 39 years old. And although 48% of respondents rate their eye sight as “good,” a majority of people have an “easy time” taking care of their eyes (62%), whereas one-fifth of people have an easy time (19%). Respondents said they found it easy because they just take care of their vision (69%), they have a good eye doctor (51%), and they keep up with daily habits (48%). Those who have difficulty caring for their eyes mentioned many challenges, such as not having their insurance cover many eye treatments (48%), not having the resources to do so (39%), and not having a good eye doctor (38%).
Regardless, 45% feel that seeing the eye doctor every year is “very important”, and respondents said that in the past five years, they had visited the eye doctor on average four times. And respondents also took matters into their own hands in order to better take care of their eyes. Eating a healthy diet (43%), wearing sunglasses (41%), getting more sleep (40%), drinking more water (40%), not touching the eyes too often (39%), and washing their hands regularly (38%) are among the steps people have taken to keep their eyes in good shape.
Many believe that wearing incorrect glasses (39%), and watching TV very close to your eyes, could lead to damage (38%). Other statements that people are most likely to think are true are: “reading in low-light is bad for your eyes” (35%), “using computers often may harm your eyes” (35%), and “you will lose vision as you get older” (34%). Zhu also points out that eyesight gets worse with age.
