For me, it's because of insecurity. And I feel like it makes me look more "vulnerable" and therefore feel unsafe from other people.

I'm very slowly changing it though. I've started carrying it with me to get used to it.

People who lose their eyesight gradually can be terrified of using a cane/any blind aid tool as it's the final proof that they're finally, in fact, blind.

Also, some people are ashamed to be recognized as blind. In their minds, if people see them with a cane they will think less of them and even think they're not as valuable as a person as a sighted peer. This is quite common in the place I used to live.

My mother (whose eyes are worse than mine) refuses to use one. She admits she needs one but refuses to use one out of vanity. I, on the other hand, much prefer to use them especially in crowded environments. We both are legally blind but still have some usable vision. They are hard to use while pushing a shopping cart though.

My state won’t provide them unless you need help finding work.

Since I’m fully employed with the same people before my eyesight got bad enough, according to the state I have sustained full time employment and thus do not qualify for cane training.

Why would I buy something I can’t use?

I fought my school district for cane training when I was 12. Got tired of falling down stairs at night and ruining my back watching my feet.
I understand the vanity thing for some folks, but to that I must say: you look a lot less dignified slamming full force or watching your toes all the time. Using a cane gives you confidence you didn't think you could have. You walk taller and faster and you can laugh at the sighted people who run into things getting out of your way. And at least Ambutech makes custom designer canes that don't cost any more than a regular one.

I was never offered a cane. It wasn't until I was 20 that I realised that I could get one- I thought that you had to have less sight than I did to get one!!! Kind of annoyed as I feel it would have been great- I'm 24 now but I'm kind of scared to enquire About getting one

For me, the cane for more than 20 minutes is painful and uncomfortable. I have god knows how many blisters on my hands from it, and the actual motion of the cane bends the joints in my hands in a painful way (hypermobile hand joints yay!).

Also I don’t like the way people treat me when I have it - it’s always either being treated like an inept baby or like i’m nonexistent. Bleh.

Thankfully I live in a small town so I can get away with working by colour blobs for shops and familiarity if I need to go out but mostly just sighted guide with my hubs to be.

Having the ability to use a cane and you dont when you know it could he is p you is something I will never understand.

In today's society we have the ability to have freedom and go/do what we want without constant worry or injury and you choose to (probably) look even more ridiculous by stumbling and tripping and running into things.

If you run into a person who doesnt understand use that as an opportunity to teach them about your disability.

Know your rights and laws. What constitutes assault and harassment. Where your guide dog is and isnt allowed.

There are also apps like be my eyes and a ton of other electronic sources that can help blind and visually impaired people.

Stop living like its 1500 where blind people had no rights, no way to do anything and take advantage of the amazing advances in society.

I am blind in one eye and have partial vision in the other. As a result I have no depth perception. I use my cane at night or in crowded areas. It gives people a heads up that I can't see, and keeps me from tripping over or bumping into things I didn't see. I don't know why people that can't see wouldn't use a cane. It is not hard to use, so that's just a poor excuse. It is also not that hard to order one, since even amazon sells ambutech canes. And in this day and age, people could care less if you are using a cane. I received mobility training when I was in elementary school, but not recently. I've learned how to use my cane by using it, gee what a concept.

for most people, i think it’s insecurity or embarrassment—it seems to vary in nature depending on if you’ve gone blind, or been born blind. i think people going blind are afraid to “become” blind in the minds of those around them, whereas those born blind are afraid of losing autonomy. (or genuinely: get around just fine.)

when i started using my cane, i just opted to embarrassedly carry it around. in retrospect, that looked even worse

Couldn't go anywhere without my cane. It's literally an extension of myself (almost like eyes).

Even with remote visual assistance apps, I have to use a cane - how else am I supposed to detect surfaces/dropoffs?

At blind camp, they talked to us about "cane shame," and that phrase always stuck with me.

I agree with everyone here. Why not use it even if you don't have to? I did date some once who had some usable vision but not a lot. She was just learning t use a cane at the time but just didn't feel comfortable using it. Also, I think it was a hard thing for her to trust, always worried she was going to step off a step or trip up a curb the cane missed. She was not bashful or embarrassed about using it at all, just not confident.

I've been legally blind my whole life. I never got O&M training when I was younger, because my parents didn't think my vision loss was severe enough to need a cane, since I could generally get around without one - and I can, for the most part. I struggle at night, in bad lighting, and in unfamiliar places. But my world was very small growing up - home, school, the houses of a few friends. I did fine without a cane, so no effort was made to teach me how to use one.

Now I'm 41 and have recently come to the conclusion that I need to start using one for my own safety. Injuries hurt a lot more and take a lot more time to recover from than they did when I was a kid. Also, I have more desire to be out and doing things on my own.

But I'm super self-conscious about it. I live in a small town and no one that I know or have seen out in the community uses one. Literally, no one. There was one kid I went to high school with who did, but he moved away. In my entire 4 decades of living in this town, he's the only person I've ever seen that used a cane.

I can only guess independence.

In certain situations it would be very helpful to have a cane in my case but it's a little awkward because I still have some usable vision. I feel like it would look strange to others seeing me visibly looking around at my surroundings whilst holding a cane.

I've bumped into enough people that it probably warrants me to have one but I feel like I still have enough vision that it wouldn't be okay for me to own

Some people are embarrassed to identify themselves as blind. I heard it be compared to coming out the closet. People go years without identifying themselves as blind and don’t use the tools that can make their life’s easier.