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Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

getpolarized.io

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Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#31

Post by burtonator »

nck4222 wrote: post #23
burtonator wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. I tried to find more data but it's scarce. I would love to get more data for more apps as I think it's definitely biased around people who spend a LOT of time staring at text. I'm a programmer so spend a ton of time in my IDE. Polar is designed for people that read a LOT so dark mode really matters to them. When you're reading 100s of PDFs having a dark mode is kind of important! In retrospect I'm kicking mys…

I would say you have an interesting article here, and your user poll is interesting too. But like you said you don't really have the data to back up this claim, so it just comes off as really click-baity. It worked, as I've never heard of your product and am clicking around the site now, but it's disappointing none the less.

Well, one of the reasons to blog is to get other people who can submit more data. Further, I feel that if there was a specific demand for white that people would switch.

... It definitely would be great to get more apps to release their data. I reached out to IntelliJ about IDEA data but I didn't hear anything back.

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#32

Post by 120bits »

I have using VI for years now and I prefer black background with green text, and I'm sure most people do. When I transitioned over to a modern IDE Atom/Code/Sublime, the first thing I wanted was to have a decent dark theme. I did try few of them but it was hard on my eyes(maybe because my eyes have adjusted to what I have been looking at for years) I finally settled on Code editor and its been ok so far.

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#33

Post by intrepidhero »

api wrote: post #2

I think the rise of dark mode is mostly related to really good displays. Dark mode looks like shit on CRTs and even older flat panels with poor contrast.

CRTs had way better contrast and brightness than the early LCDs. And since CRTs don't excite phosphors on black pixels you could literally extend the life of your monitor (and spare your eyeballs) by using dark mode.

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#36

Post by jolmg »

whack wrote: post #10

It seems that their data is mostly coming from their own user base (the discord data is biased as they admitted), which is mostly comprised of programmers and other techies. I don't know how far this generalizes to the rest of society. I personally like dark mode during night time, but almost always prefer light mode by default. There's just something about dark mode that is... gloomy and depressing. It feels like an…

If system-wide themes really worked, I'd probably be switching now and then between light and dark themes. Dark mode is kind of gloomy but it's also easier on the eyes.

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#37

Post by jrockway »

kleer001 wrote: post #21

Personally I can't stand dark mode. It literally hurts my eyes. Strain after a few moments and interlacing ghost lines that linger in my vision for a minute. Does anyone else have this? Is it brain cancer?! edit: Thanks, I'm pretty sure it's not cancer. Question: But why me? Age? Staring too long at monitors? Drugs? It doesn't seem to effect too many others.

It's not brain cancer but rather an artifact of how the eye/brain system works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterimage

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#38

Post by burtonator »

__s wrote: post #24
whack wrote: post #10

It seems that their data is mostly coming from their own user base (the discord data is biased as they admitted), which is mostly comprised of programmers and other techies. I don't know how far this generalizes to the rest of society. I personally like dark mode during night time, but almost always prefer light mode by default. There's just something about dark mode that is... gloomy and depressing. It feels like an…

I'm not a night owl. I prefer dark mode. It matters when you're staring at a screen for more than 12 hours a day

Agreed. Anything more than an hour or two and it's definitely nicer to have a dark mode.

I used dark mode in IDEA for YEARS and I can't believe I didn't push harder to have a dark mode in Polar earlier.

This is why it's good to listen to your users!

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#39

Post by rightbyte »

peterfisher wrote: post #16

this is frustrating because I have diplopia and so my life looks like: https://i.imgur.com/IHWBflS.png when you have white text on a black background. This affect doesn't happen on "light" mode systems...

Funny. I thought that's how bright on dark text looked for everyone. Couldn't see the shadow until I tilted the screen.

Do I have diplopia or do people with diplopia see more of the effect?

Re: Dark Mode by Default – 95% of People Prefer Dark over Light Mode

#40

Post by roland35 »

120bits wrote: post #32

I have using VI for years now and I prefer black background with green text, and I'm sure most people do. When I transitioned over to a modern IDE Atom/Code/Sublime, the first thing I wanted was to have a decent dark theme. I did try few of them but it was hard on my eyes(maybe because my eyes have adjusted to what I have been looking at for years) I finally settled on Code editor and its been ok so far.

Badwolf is my personal favorite dark theme: a nice black with orange and red.
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