I am fortunate. I don’t have to take Advil or Tylenol or Aleve very often. But this past week I did. Since it had been quite awhile I thought I should check the bottle to see how much to take. That was a good idea except the print on the back of the bottle was so tiny that I could not read it. My only solution was to search around for a magnifying glass to help me decipher the small print to find the proper dosage. Can font sizes be in negative numbers?!?
I realize that not being able to read the fine print seems to be popping up more often for me these days. Huh. I just had my annual eye exam. I even got new updated prescription glasses. Surely my inability to decipher the tiny print couldn’t have to do with getting older, could it?!!
Then I remembered trying to read a take-out menu recently. I didn’t need a magnifying glass but it took considerable squinting power.
The very next day we received a copy of the AARP newsletter. OMG! The font size was enormous!! That was the big reveal that as we age our eyes struggle to read the fine print. The AARP newsletter has NO fine print. Zero. Zilch. I could probably read it across the room without my glasses. Let’s just say that the AARP knows their readership.
.The font size or text size is how large the characters displayed on a screen or printed on a page are. A font is often measured in points. Points dictate the height of the lettering. There are approximately 72 points in one inch so the font size 72 is about one inch tall. The font size 36 is about half an inch.
To put this in perspective, the size of the type in a New York Times article is 8.7 points. The weekly newsletter that is distributed to our retirement community is 14 point type. According to U.S. Pharmacopeia and the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices the instructions on a prescription medicine should ideally be 12 point type. However, we all know that not all pharmacies or medicine manufacturers follow these guidelines.
And yes, the majority of people over 50 have trouble reading small print. This is because of presbyopia. This isn’t really a disease but simply a natural part of aging that gradually blurs close vision. We can focus our vision because the lens of the eye is quite pliable; it expands and contracts. But as we age, the shell of the lens hardens and we lose some focusing power. That’s why so many of us need reading glasses (or graduate to bi-focals) in our mid-40’s and it usually gets worse as we get older.
The best hack I have found for dealing with small print (at least when it is on a medicine bottle or a can in the grocery store) is to take a photo of the item with your phone and then, with the simple spreading movement of your fingers you can enlarge that photo to an easily readable font size. Yes, it is a bit cumbersome but it works.
Many of us have seen the Facebook meme that says:
Turning down the stereo won’t help with reading small print, but it does help to accept that it is just one of those getting older things. Now we can be old and fun.
It’s like the Billie Eilish song says:
I'm gettin' older, I've got more on my shoulders
But I'm gettin' better at admitting when I'm wrong
I'm happier than ever, at least, that's my endeavor…
We can’t let a little small print get us down. After all, it’s just a little thing.
Let us not rage against the dying of the light! Some Welshman said that. I have had glasses since college. Sometimes I need them for distance. Sometimes I need them for reading. Right now I need them for both. I am beyond grateful that I can see and I know Tom and Jeanne are too!❤️
I always remember my grandmother complaining about it and thinking that'll never happen to me!!