Dark mode hurts my eyes and reliably gives me a headache. I can’t understand why anyone prefers to read white text on a dark field.
And dark mode users can’t understand how anyone could prefer light mode, so there you go.
deleted by creator
I remember reading a while ago that there are people who stand up before wiping, and people who wipe before they stand up, and neither camp can fathom how the other does it. This is giving me that same energy.
Whatever you do, don’t wipe during stand up, it was super embarrassing and the comedian roasted me for half an hour.
And all public restrooms seem to cater to the sitters. Fucking toilet paper dispensers are basically on the floor these days.
What the fuck. Do you stand up and then bend over first? That’s actually insane to me.
deleted by creator
Try a black background on an OLED screen and you’ll probably understand.
This is in fact an unpopular opinion. You heathen.
Joking aside, when I was first learning HTML my teacher always hated when students inverted the colors to make a “darkmode” because she said it gave people headaches. So I guess it’s a thing.
Depending on how old you are, your vision also naturally dims as you age. This is also why stuff designed by older people is often blindingly bright to young people and vice versa. I’m willing to bet that if a survey was done it would show that the popularity of darkmode drops sharply as users age.
I’m 53 and I can’t stand non dark mode. So either I’m an outlier or your theory is wrong.
I might be older than you and I’ve been using dark mode since it first became available on Android. If I make it to a hundred I’ll still be rockin’ dark mode.
Congratulations on the unpopular opinion. May your future be ever blinding blue-white and headache inducing.
You literally just answered your own question.
I feel the exact opposite
Dark mode can be harder on the eyes and/or give headaches to people with astigmatism. It has to do with halation. White text on a black background is blurrier than black text on a white background. There’s a nice accessibility description here. I personally dislike dark mode for that very reason.
This is true af. I have an astigmatism in both eyes but I still prefer darkmode. Mainly because of the look, but at night light mode is way worse than the blurry text (which is solved by increasing the font size)
fully agree, I dislike light mode but the true black dark modes hurt just the same after extended periods, grey mode somewhat like how discord has it hopefully turns into standard for dark mode styles instead of OLED style dark modes
deleted by creator
deleted by creator
Removed by mod
Paper uses pigments, it just reflects the ambient light. Screens however actively emit light.
Let’s compare screens to sky. What is easier for your eyes, to stare at a flying airplane during daylight, or to watch stars at night?
Removed by mod
deleted by creator
Removed by mod
It’s only over if you contractually agree to only ever read anything on paper with a flashlight held directly behind the pages shining light through the paper right into your face.
Removed by mod
You are a funny person. So the discomfort I get from the light a screen emits when the screen is predominantly white is not there because the wire wrote that dark mode doesn’t make you blink more often?
And your argument about paper being white is suddenly fitting because people who enable dark mode and like it better never did that because of light even if that is what they say they did it for.
But hey, if you want to get irrationally angry because some people use a button you don’t like to use on their computer, you do you I guess…
Ok I actually read the article and was not satisfied with what I saw. The zapier and wired article links to some hella outdated literature (screens have improved a lot from 1998 and 2003 screens).
In the articles you also linked, they also said blue light has more of an effect on eye strain. Age may also be a factor (no shame in getting old). Here’s an obligatory article presenting a case on the usage of dark mode. Honestly, it’s a not too well researched topic. There’s research for and against the use of dark mode.
It all comes down to personal preferance. You can’t just go up to a person and say “Hey fuckwit, your theming is wrong”. That’s universally considered rude. Though if you want to reduce eye strain, it all comes down to blue light level. You can also use e-ink screens however, screen latency is still an issue there.
I just wanted to put articles that conflict with your links. People might see it and say “Ohhhhh I’m gonna switch to light mode because this guy has shiny blue links”. Reader, please, do as you please. Also, don’t reply to this.
Removed by mod
Removed by mod
Removed by mod
If we’re talking adaptation, then ‘centuries’ is fairly irrelevant given how long our generations are…
Also, hasn’t it really only been a small number of centuries where reading has become a regular and critical function for the majority of the population?
Combine that with the fact that it’s long been easier/cheaper to make a uniformly light-coloured ‘paper’ and dark ink, than the reverse.
Using our history of dark-text might just be allowing the technology of the times to drive the future.
A more interesting comparison might be that we started with dark displays and light text (amber and green-screens) and moved to white displays with dark text later on.
Was that change due to a desire to mimic the paper medium?
Was it down to the quality of displays at the time (light bleed on CRTs might have driven this flip from dark to light once uniformity and brightness reached useful levels)?
Or was it because more people prefer dark text over light?
Regardless I’d like to finish by virtually girding my loins, brandishing my digital spear, and warning everyone that they’ll have to pry dark-mode from my cold-dead hands.
Removed by mod
Paper doesn’t emit light. It’s not even similar, let alone the same thing.
I use an ereader with black on white, but the lack of an option to use dark mode on a screen guarantees I never consider touch your app again. It’s eye cancer.
Removed by mod
It’s literally 100% exclusively about where the light is coming from.
Combined, those articles link to one actual bit of research where they tested in a dark room with participants 6 fucking feet away from a 24 inch dim screen. That’s not even sort of representative of the real world.
Removed by mod
But… all of those have to do with light (and are mostly clickbaity articles that do admit in the body of the thing that dark mode does reduce eye strain, limit battery drain on most handheld devices and lower the impact of blue light). When your big argument against dark mode is “well, it’s less eye-searingly uncomfortably, so it may induce you to use an application too much” I think us dark mode defenders can rest our case.
Removed by mod
Nah, you can absolutely just… prefer light mode. Besides this being the “unpopular opinion” magazine (which is to say, we’re all here to be called out on our unpopular hills to die on, it’s part of the fun), the colors you use for your websites are up to you. The only objective thing that matters here is that having a toggle available is better than not having a toggle and being locked to one or the other.
Buuuut, it’s also true that the articles you’re referencing are pretty bad and don’t quite say what you seem to say they say. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m not annoyed at you for that. I’m mostly annoyed at the way media misreports scientific studies, honestly.
You’re the only butthurt in the replies.
Removed by mod
I use either depending on the situation. Generally how bright of an environment I’m in.
Removed by mod
I like day mode in sunlight and dark mode in low light or if I’m reading in bed with the lights off. Definitely depends on the type of screen you have. The Samsung Tab S8 isn’t even OLED but it’s bright even with the settings turned right down so reading black on a blinding white screen is uncomfortable in the dark
It’s not just the tab s8, I have a tab s7 and it’s super bright and obnoxiously loud even at the lowest settings. I don’t understand why there is not more control over it.
I do indeed find this opinion unpopular, but I’ll support your right to have it to my death!
For the longest time it was light mode only everywhere, and I wouldn’t wish the same suffering on anyone. Including both should really just be standard design practice
