“We shouldn’t shame people for learning”: Woman admits she thought glasses had “medicine” in the lenses

A TikTok creator named Imani (@imani_jjc) surprised viewers this week after explaining that she only recently learned how prescription glasses worked. She said she grew up hearing relatives talk about "medicine" on their lenses. Because of this, she assumed glasses carried some sort of topical treatment.

She never needed corrective vision herself, so she never questioned it. When she finally saw an explainer on TikTok, the truth stunned her.

In her video, Imani said, "I love being an adult, learning new things. Did you know that medicine is not in glasses?"

She went on to describe how an optician shapes lenses to match a patient’s needs. "The glass is just shaved down in a particular measurement to fit the needs of your eyes," she said, adding that "it’s a science and it’s math."

Social media reacts—mostly with ridicule

Soon after her clip went live, people flooded the comments both on TikTok and Reddit, where it was reposted, with mockery. Many people acted as though not knowing this information made her incapable of navigating adulthood. 

Although her TikTok comments were locked after a time, the Reddit thread about the video picked up momentum. Some Redditors insisted she must have misunderstood her relatives. 

@imani_jjc Did you know there isn’t any medicine in glasses? ???? I sure as heck didn’t lol. Thank you @Kristopher W. | Th3 Boy Dad ♬ original sound - Imani | Philly Fitness Girlie

u/breadaaaahh wrote, "Maybe they said 'I need a new prescription for my glasses' and she assumed the medicine part herself because it’s called a 'prescription.'" Others took a harsher tone and blamed the people who taught her. As u/Bambooshka put it, "Either she's wrong and filling in the blanks incorrectly, or whoever is telling her about eyeglass prescriptions is dumb as hell."

Meanwhile, the TikToker she referenced was most likely Kristopher (@th3.boy.dad), whose video included everything that she talked about in her own video. His comment section was much more positive than hers and often featured people from BIPOC families who claimed to have grown up hearing the same myth as Imani.

@th3.boy.dad #fyp #eyes #glasses ♬ original sound - Kristopher W. | Th3 Boy Dad

One woman wrote, "Explaining this to my husband was so funny. He thought he needed more glasses because the 'medicine' had rubbed off over time. No… you’re just 32 now and your eye sight is getting worse. It’s just a lens, my boy."

Another commenter added, "As someone who used to work at an eye clinic, thank you for explaining this to our people ????????????????"

Imani responded after the backlash 

Eventually, Imani posted a couple of follow-up videos. She said the internet’s reaction felt extreme. According to her, commenters treated her like she had confessed to something outrageous.

She said, "I've been called everything but my name in those comments." Additionally, she explained that the misinformation came from her childhood. She recalled her great-grandmother warning kids not to touch glasses because "they got medicine them in them."

Even so, she insisted that learning publicly should not invite cruelty. She said, "I quite literally thank god that I have the confidence in myself and the love for myself. That I do. Because this internet is wicked."

"If y'all do this to people who just sharing a genuine fun fact, something they learn, I literally can't imagine what you do to people who actually make true mistakes in life."

She argued that people confuse being uninformed with being incapable of learning. As one Redditor, u/miss-bedazzzle, pointed out, "We shouldn’t shame people for learning."

@imani_jjc did not respond immediately to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment.

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