New research from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) shows younger patients are more inspired by product advancements, offering opportunities for eyecare practitioners to better engage current and potential wearers.  

It’s clear that contact-lens-wearing motivations can differ by age, said Stan Rogaski, CLI’s executive director. “Understanding what influences Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X should help the eyecare community better attract new contact lens patients and more effectively retain current patients through targeted communication and education.” 

The findings represent the latest instalment of CLI’s See Tomorrow initiative, which is exploring generational wearing patterns. The data are derived from a CLI-commissioned survey of 1,308 vision-corrected respondents in the US and Canada during July and August 2025 across three generations: Gen Z (ages 15–28), Millennials (ages 29–44), and Gen X (ages 45–60). 

Reasons for CL wear 

Asking current CL-wearers about their reasons for wear, Gen Z indicated personal appearance (52%), freedom from glasses (47%) and a lack of visual obstruction (40%) as their top three factors. Millennials favoured personal appearance (50%), followed by freedom from glasses (48%), better comfort (48%), and ease of use (48%). Gen X weighed in with freedom from glasses (54%), a lack of visual obstruction (53%), and better comfort (41%). 

While some clinicians may believe patients choose their corrective device based on visual acuity, all three generations ranked optimal vision in the middle of the pack (Gen Z, 34%; Millennials, 30%; Gen X, 29%). This suggests highlighting CL lifestyle benefits while also reinforcing their optical advantages may promote uptake and retention, said authors.