LASIK SURGERY FOR MILLENNIALS
Millennials (age group 18-34) typically don’t have time to worry about medical care. Unless there’s a pressing emergency that needs immediate attention, they are unlikely to go for a medical consultation that could positively impact their lives in the years to come. Complications of day-to-day living that arise with middle age and more advanced years is a very distant possibility, and rarely is a millennial going to take a long-term view on overall health, when they have gym sessions, coffee sessions, hiking, biking and so much else to get on with.
It is interesting therefore, to learn that 63% of people who got LASIK surgery to correct their vision in 2012-2013, were between the ages of 18 and 34. And in the United States, the numbers are consistently growing.
Needless to say, the factor that mostly propels millennials to consider LASIK surgery is: vanity. Virtual existence on social media is putting such a prize on the glamor selfie that anything that cannot be airbrushed out – like eyeglasses – is an abomination. Then there is the frenetic pace of real-world, urban living, where spectacles and contacts are a right nuisance.
In fact, take the stodgy label of `medical procedure’ out of LASIK and call it a `lifestyle makeover’ – and it won’t be so hard then, to see why refractive surgery is becoming a trend with the young and restless.
LASIK Surgery Candidates
Early on, there were a lot of misconceptions about the cost of LASIK surgery. (Top trending hashtag on Twitter about LASIK: #LASIKcost.) But with easy mobile search functionalities and crowd-sourced opinions that flood their daily news feed, the latest information about costs, financing options, promotional discounts etc. are all at their fingertips.
Add to this, the fact that millennials are more open to new scientific breakthroughs and willing to embrace modern solutions to age-old problems, and it seems inevitable that LASIK would strike a chord with this 90-million-strong community of young hopefuls.
“The millennial generation makes superb LASIK surgery candidates,” says Dr Joesph King, lead surgeon at Seattle’s King LASIK. “The results are pretty outstanding, and if they have surgery early on, they get many precious extra years of living without the hassles of glasses and contact lenses.”