Experiencing Information Overload? These Glasses Make Screens Look Black

Resolving to limit your screen time isn't so easy in 2018. After powering down your phone and shutting off your television, you still have to face the screens installed on streets, in restaurants, and in your office, all blaring information at you nonstop. You may not be able to get the world around you to unplug, but you can limit your digital intake—and it could be as easy as slipping on a pair of sunglasses.

As CNET reports, the IRL Glasses, currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, are designed to block the light from LCD and LED displays. They use a technique called horizontal polarized optics, which involves flattening and rotating a polarized lens 90 degrees. That means when you're wearing them, the digital ad on your street corner, the football game playing at your local bar, and the Netflix show your roommate is watching while you're trying to study all appear black. The specs also double as sunglasses, blocking harmful UV rays.

The product's resemblance to the glasses from a certain 1980s cult film is no coincidence. The team behind IRL Glasses writes on their Kickstarter page that the design is inspired by the John Carpenter movie They Live, in which protagonist John Nada (played by wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper) receives a pair of glasses that reveal the true meanings behind the advertisements that surround him. But the IRL glasses won't work on every screen you encounter; because they only block LCD and LED light, you can still see smartphones and digital billboards through them.

After launching the Kickstarter campaign at the beginning of October, the IRL team has already raised nearly $30,000, exceeding their initial $25,000 goal. You can reserve your pair today with a pledge of $49 or more. Delivery of the glasses is estimated for April 2019.