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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)

#361

Post by int_19h »

MPSimmons wrote: post #274
KaiserPro wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, darkmode, and the bluelight fear is not really based on that much science. Yes, UV and top end blue does cause cataracts in people, but thats from the sun, not monitors. There are at least two strands to darkmode, one is the "It stops me from sleeping" and the other is eye strain. the sleeping part is almost certainly nothing to do with the colour temperature of the light coming out of your device. If you go ou…

The moon wasn't the predominant source of light at night for most pre-industrial people. Fire was, and is what we evolved with, which is likely why red light doesn't cause your eyes to constrict ( https://thehikingauthority.com/red-light-night-vision-a-myth... )

I don't know enough about the relevant physiology to judge the article as a whole, but this bit is not correct:

"That’s why military grade night vision goggles always use a green light. You get a much clearer sight picture with extra contrast while preserving most of the night vision once the light gets shut off."

The trend these days is towards white phosphor in NVDs. This is because, while green is indeed better if you have to look at it and away repeatedly in low light, white is significantly better at producing high-contrast images. And you do want high contrast to be able to spot things when it's dark.

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

#362

Post by int_19h »

dontlaugh wrote: post #37
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 and experience the opposite. Not sure why. Is it because I always wear glasses?

I have astigmatism, and I read without glasses (by holding the device close enough to the eyes). I find black-on-white more readable in general, but red-on-black is equally readable at night.

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

#363

Post by comfypotato »

int_19h wrote: post #360
comfypotato wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comment you’re responding to is nonsense. They clearly don’t suffer from severe insomnia. Dark modes have been a godsend for me when it comes to falling asleep. There’s no doubt that the stimulation from something like TikTok as opposed to reading a Gutenberg ebook has more to do with the content than the light emitting from your phone. The notion, however, that the light of the phone (or other screen) has nothin…

I suffer from severe insomnia. For quite a long time, I've used blue light filters and automatic dimmers on all my devices with screens. A few months ago, when I discovered that there are no studies that clearly confirm the benefits of those things, I decided to stop using them to see for myself. So far, there is no observable difference. Now, I'm not going to claim that this is therefore obviously the case for every…

I don’t use a blue light filter (my insomnia isn’t severe, but I’ve definitely been diagnosed). There is a palpable difference for me reading before bedtime with light text on a black background instead of black text on white. The gist of my comment was that the blue filter doesn’t matter. In fact, I’m sure the white text is emitting blue light. The point is that the total lumens is much more critical.

My experience has been widely anecdotally backed up in casual conversation in my life (including by a sleep specialist). The blue light stuff is a marketing ploy in my opinion. I’m mentioning blue light repeatedly because you highlighting this makes it seem like I failed to communicate my point. Dark mode, however, is universally a godsend (see “anecdotal evidence” acknowledgement).

Perhaps you’re not a reader? As an insomniac, the only excuse for not reading to fall asleep is ADHD or other focus problems. It’s too ideal a solution for insomnia not to be acknowledged in this context. Please forgive my inflammatory tone, but I tend to doubt you having severe insomnia (coupled with routine in-patient/out-patient sleep studies, medication, etc.) and not being able to follow the flow of my communication here. Having a hard time falling asleep and being diagnosed with severe insomnia are very different.

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

#365

Post by scatters »

midoridensha wrote: post #355
scatters wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should your eyes care whether the light was generated behind the screen or bounced off it? Photons are photons.

Because directly-transmitted light from an LCD screen's backlight doesn't scatter the way diffuse, reflected light from a piece of paper does. It's like comparing a laser to a flashlight.

Sorry, but that doesn't make sense at all. An LCD screen emits photons of all wavelengths and in all directions, as does a piece of paper. That's totally different to flashlight vs. laser, where there is a physical distinction between the types of photons being emitted.

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

#366

Post by michaelcampbell »

IncRnd wrote: post #196
BeetleB wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This post seems to boil down to, "I read a summary of one study, so I am confident in telling you all how wrong you are". Most/all of the points were well known back in the days when I used CRT monitors - he's not reporting something new. In fact, reading some of the comments, I'm quite surprised people still believe there are inherent benefits to dark mode. There's not really much research supporting it. It's just…

> In fact, reading some of the comments, I'm quite surprised people still believe there are inherent benefits to dark mode. There's not really much research supporting it. That's actually kind of ridiculous. I don't need to read other's research about dark mode to know how it lessens eye-strain. I have performed the experiment myself with my own eyes.

The flat-earth logic.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but you're one anecdata point without study.

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

#367

Post by antifa »

lo_zamoyski wrote: post #138
taneq wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your summary here more or less applies to the entire debate, and many other similar debates. When did we forget that personal preference an entirely sufficient reason to make a personal choice? I don't use dark mode because a meta-analysis of opthalmological studies indicates it may improve eye health, I use it because I like it and my eyes feel more comfortable using it.

> When did we forget that personal preference an entirely sufficient reason to make a personal choice? I don't think anyone is forcing anyone to do anything. If you want to smoke cigarettes, you have the license to do so. But that doesn't mean there aren't objective reasons no to do so. Generally speaking, preferences aren't beyond scrutiny or axiomatic, or outside rational consideration. If a preference is meaningfu…

> I don't think anyone is forcing anyone to do anything.

Au contraire, the problem is literally that we are forcing people. People are claiming medical issues (on both sides), too, so this is probably going to end up in some future debates about accessibility rules/laws.

You have the right to put a flashlight up to your eyes for 8 hours/day, you do not have the same right to do this to me.

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

#368

Post by lelanthran »

IncRnd wrote: post #202
verinus wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

err well- anecdotal evidence may be a good basis for a theory that could be validated using an experiment, but it does not suffice to be calling somebody elses' argument ridiculous...

My comment does not mention anecdotal evidence but a person using their eyes to perform an experiment. That is clearly not anecdotal. It is ridiculous for people with eyes to not use their own eyes except to read studies as to whether their own eyes prefer light or dark. That should be obvious.

> My comment does not mention anecdotal evidence but a person using their eyes to perform an experiment.

That's exactly what anecdotal means: one person's account of something.

What did you think it meant?

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

#369

Post by mattymf »

If you're saying blue light is actually a leading cause of eye strain, then how can you conclude that dark mode doesn't help with that? A large white background has significantly more blue light than a black or gray background. It is already known that dark text on a light background is easier to read in general, but with all the blue lights shining in your eyes it is certainly worth it to toggle dark mode throughout the day to let your eyes rest. The light text on a dark background should not be difficult to read if the environment outside the screen is bright enough. Your point about fine details becoming washed through dilation is true, but only relevant if you are reading in the dark. In which case turning on a light fixes that issue entirely.

Dark Mode _is_ good for your eyes, especially if you are feeling fatigued from reading so much text in light mode. Get a toggle dark mode reader for your browser! You don't have to choose one or* the other, but rather toggle as your eyes are feeling fatigued, or take a walk.

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

#370

Post by throw10920 »

IncRnd wrote: post #224
brabel wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OMG didn't expect to see the "I know this is true and I don't need researchers telling me otherwise" argument here.

> OMG didn't expect to see the "I know this is true and I don't need researchers telling me otherwise" argument here. And, you didn't see that here. That you would even think that shows that you didn't read what was written. It is ridiculous to wait for what others say about whether dark or light mode strains one's eyes more, since each person already has a pair of eyes to test what works for them.

> And, you didn't see that here.

We all literally did. You said, quoted:

> I don't need to read other's research about dark mode to know how it lessens eye-strain. I have performed the experiment myself with my own eyes.

That is exactly the same as "I know this is true and I don't need researchers telling me otherwise".

> It is ridiculous to wait for what others say about whether dark or light mode strains one's eyes more, since each person already has a pair of eyes to test what works for them.

That's not how having eyes works - you are physically incapable of measuring eye strain yourself without external equipment and rigorous scientific process. Your subjective perception of reality is not objective reality itself, and your perceived comfort level is not consistent with the actual strain being put on your body, full stop.

Your logic of "each person already has a pair of eyes to test what works for them" directly implies that things that feel good are good for you, which is objectively not how the body works.

You're completely and categorically wrong here.

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