No - the American Academy of Ophthalmology is direct: glasses do not weaken your eyes or create physical dependence.
Presbyopia, the lens stiffening that starts in your 40s, progresses on its own schedule whether you wear readers or not. The myth feels true for two reasons: clear vision makes uncorrected blur feel worse by contrast, and prescriptions climb over the years - but that climb was coming anyway. Under-wearing readers preserves nothing; it buys squinting and headaches. Pymander's escalation routing is built and tested specifically for this class of decision; see the safety architecture working paper .
What to do
Common questions
Do reading glasses make your eyes worse?
No. The American Academy of Ophthalmology is direct: wearing glasses does not weaken your eyes or make them physically dependent on the prescription. What actually happens: the condition that sent you to readers - presbyopia, the lens stiffening that starts in your 40s - keeps progressing on its own schedule, glasses or not. Meanwhile two things fool people. First, once you see clearly, going back to blur feels worse by contrast, so it seems like your vision "got worse." Second, your prescription does legitimately climb over the years - but that was coming anyway. The AAO notes humans become psychologically dependent on glasses simply because we function better seeing clearly. Under-wearing readers does not preserve anything; it just gives you headaches and squinting. Wear the power that makes reading comfortable, and recheck every year or two.