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Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

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Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#141

Post by michaelteter »

The light vs dark mode topic has come up several times on HN in the last few years, and it seems for one group that it is a religious conflict. That group seems especially (and aggressively) vocal in rejecting any observations or opinions from the other side.

Each should use what they like, and eyes (and the brains that they depend on) are pretty unique. Therefore, I would not expect any two people to look at the same thing and agree completely on what they see - or how they feel about it.

I do wish the dark mode proponents would accept that recording video or presenting in dark mode is usually a bad idea for two primary reasons.

1. Viewers may be in environments with high ambient light. Dark mode, viewed in a very bright environment, can be difficult or even impossible to see if the ambient brightness is very high. If it's a video on youtube, the viewer can choose to watch it another time when it's not so bright. (But that viewer may never return to view it later, so you've lost a viewer for whatever effort you put in.)

My favorite example of when not to use dark mode is in conferences or live presentations. Projectors produce much dimmer output than monitors do, and most conferences are not given in total darkness. This is especially true if the environment has windows, such as an office meeting space. So keep this in mind if you are a presenter. You could put a lot of effort into making nice slides and having some animations, but your live audience may be practically unable to see most of it.

2. Video/image compression tends to result in poorer output for lower contrast content like dark mode syntax highlighted text. One can plainly see the loss of quality of syntax highlighted code text on dark mode video or stills.

The net result is, again, that your audience gets less benefit from your content creation effort. That's a shame for everyone.

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#144

Post by mtrower »

ptcrash wrote: post #11
hosteur wrote: post #2

I primarily use dark mode when I am in the dark or in a dimly lit room. Having any light blasted right into my eyes hurts. And ruins my night vision. And also messes with my sleep.

Same here. I also switch to light mode when I'm in a very bright environment and it seems to have helped a lot with eye strain since last year. I feel like these studies are being a bit 1-dimensional... but then again, maybe that's my own confirmation bias.

I’d say that’s normal (studies being one-dimensional). The idea being to isolate as many complications as possible to get at the heart of one single matter.

I didn’t read the study itself, but usually the scientists (if they aren’t pushing an agenda) are aware of the limitations of their studies. It’s the people reporting and commenting on those studies that extrapolate unwarranted conclusions and generalizations from them.

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#145

Post by mtrower »

alanbernstein wrote: post #142

> A dark blob on a light background is far easier for the human eye to see, than the reverse. The reverse, a blob of light on a dark background, is the MOST visible thing. I stopped reading there.

Yeah, I took issue with that as well.

To be fair, I’d say they’re both easy to see. However, given a daytime silhouette vs. a bright light at night, the silhouette has many other blobs competing for attention.

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#146

Post by cameronh90 »

steve1977 wrote: post #8

Having astigmatism, I definitely feel like text in dark mode is harder to read than dark text on light background. In regards to eye strain with light mode, what I found important is to match screen brightness to „environmental brightness“ (don’t know the proper term). As a rule of thumb, when I put a white paper in front of a white screen, the screen shouldn’t illuminate the paper more than the other lights in the r…

I have astigmatism too. Dark mode is a bit blurrier, but at least I can't see my floaters.

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#147

Post by _8j50 »

wincy wrote: post #94

I was a big believer in dark mode for a long time, until I started trying to reduce my SAD symptoms during the winter time. I read this blog post here [0] after seeing it on HN, and ended up buying 28 100W equivalent bulbs and a 500W equivalent corn bulb. I get a pretty decent amount of light in my home office now, and light mode is essential on my workstation or it's almost impossible to even SEE anything on screen,…

That's so many 100w bulbs, do you wear sunglasses indoors or soemthing? Very interesting.

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#148

Post by sooheon »

apmee wrote: post #38
illusiveman wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same experience for me. I used to use dark mode every where because it was somewhat accepted that the lesser bright the better. But then I read a science-based post years ago about why light mode is better for our eyes, especially for people with astigmatism, as our eyes are naturally used to focus on objects on bright scenarios (sunlight). Switched back to light theme right away, except for coding, because…

Bit of a long shot, but I don't suppose you'd happen to know where to find that post or what it was called?

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28904-x

Proposes that black on white text stimulates a pattern of expression in visual system that may contribute to myopia:

> Using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in young human subjects, we found that the choroid, the heavily perfused layer behind the retina in the eye, becomes about 16 µm thinner in only one hour when subjects read black text on white background but about 10 µm thicker when they read white text from black background. Studies both in animal models and in humans have shown that thinner choroids are associated with myopia development and thicker choroids with myopia inhibition. Therefore, reading white text from a black screen or tablet may be a way to inhibit myopia, while conventional black text on white background may stimulate myopia.

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#149

Post by mtrower »

michaelteter wrote: post #141

The light vs dark mode topic has come up several times on HN in the last few years, and it seems for one group that it is a religious conflict. That group seems especially (and aggressively) vocal in rejecting any observations or opinions from the other side. Each should use what they like, and eyes (and the brains that they depend on) are pretty unique. Therefore, I would not expect any two people to look at the sam…

I’d say it’s a religious issue for both groups. There are people on both sides of the fence who just want to use what’s comfortable (or use both situationally), and be left alone about it. Then there are those in both camps who want to convert others…

Re: Is Dark Mode Good for Your Eyes? (2020)

#150

Post by djtango »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #140
ezconnect wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually dont understand why other people can work in a dimly lit space and having dark mode on their monitor. It make feel so lazy and gloomy.

I come alive at night in a dark room. It makes me feel like the only things left in the world are just me and whatever I'm doing, giving me complete focus.

Different strokes, but totally on the same page.

A behaviour I've observed in myself is I gravitate towards big windows and like to work in an environment where I feel I have lots of space, but I am very happy working in complete darkness (but also value sunlight)

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