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.

  • Pratai@lemmy.ca
    56·
    1 year ago

    Wholeheartedly agree.

    We’ve been reading dark text on white paper for centuries, and now- people are saying that anyone that enjoys “day mode” is crazy.

    So much so, that I once posted a screenshot of an issue I was having on my screen- and everyone jumped my ass because I was not using night mode.

    My question was never answered.

    EDIT: check the replies to this comment and you’ll see exactly what I mean. SO much butthurt!

    • SillyBanana@lemmy.world
      191·
      1 year ago

      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?

      • Pratai@lemmy.ca
        120·
        1 year ago

        Irrelevant. We are accustomed to dark text against light backgrounds. The is no argument here.

          • Pratai@lemmy.ca
            120·
            1 year ago

            Again, centuries of reading dark text on light background.

            Argument is over.

            • Norgur@kbin.social
              61·
              1 year ago

              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.

                • 100thCatMarch@kbin.cafe
                  2·
                  1 year ago

                  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 The zapier and wired article links to some hella outdated literature (screens have improved a lot from 1998 and 2003 screens).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.

                  • Pratai@lemmy.ca
                    12·
                    1 year ago

                    “You can’t just go up to a person and say “hey fuckwit, your theme is wrong””

                    Might I direct you to my original point before I mention the irony in your statement?

                • Norgur@kbin.social
                  42·
                  1 year ago

                  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…

                  • Pratai@lemmy.ca
                    22·
                    1 year ago

                    If you’re not going to read any of the articles I posted- I don’t see a reason to continue the discussion.

                    Also, anecdotal evidence doesn’t carry much weight here.

        • TaldenNZ@lemmy.nz
          2·
          1 year ago

          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.

    • conciselyverbose@kbin.social
      52·
      1 year ago

      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.

        • conciselyverbose@kbin.social
          81·
          1 year ago

          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.

        • MudMan@kbin.social
          21·
          1 year ago

          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.

          • Pratai@lemmy.ca
            1·
            1 year ago

            I have to drop out of this discussion because apparently, according to some people here- simply talking about it makes me butthurt.

            You see, I’m not allowed to disagree with it. So I’m going to just not use dark mode in silence.

            And here I was hoping this place would be different from Reddit.

            • MudMan@kbin.social
              1·
              1 year ago

              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.