<commit_before>---
layout: post
title: Yes, Dark Mode Reduces Eyestrain
categories: [Software,Programming]
image: content/images/light-mode_dark-mode.jpg
---

Like so many other debates on the internet, we seem to be doomed to forever relitigate the question of whether "Dark Mode" color schemes are actually easier on the eyes than their "Light Mode" counterparts.

Here's the most recent version of this argument that cropped up in my feed on Twitter:

{% include figure.html filename="light-mode_dark-mode_tweet.png" description="Yes, I use Twitter in 'Lights out' mode" %}

The thing that's weird about it to me is that the argument against having a dark theme is always made with this sort of accusatory, skeptical tone: is it ___really___ easier on the eyes? Do people ___really___ like it, or are they just being fashionable?

I'm not sure whether this antagonism is borne out of being a developer who doesn't want to have to support multiple themes in their own app, or what. What difference does it make to you if other people enjoy a different color scheme? I don't really care if other people prefer light mode - I use dark mode because my job requires me to look at computer screens all day, every day, and dark mode doesn't give me headaches.

I have an astigmatism, which I'm sure affects my opinion on this - but I can say that yes, dark mode themes are ___definitely much easier on my eyes___ compared to light-mode themes. I get intense eye-strain pretty quickly when looking at anything with a plain white background on a computer screen.

## It's the backlight, stupid

The reason for this is pretty simple: [PC screens are backlit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlight). There's a big LED light behind the screen that is shining towards your eyeballs. This is the difference-maker, and it's the reason mostly-white themes on a PC screen cause so much more eye strain than a printed book or a Kindle reader (the actual readers, not the Android tablets). 

{% include figure.html filename="Overhead-School-Projector.jpg" description="" %}

You're staring directly into a light, and the bigger the portion of the screen that's showing bright white, the more quickly your eyes become strained. It's more like trying to read a piece of paper that's lit from behind by a light table than reading something by the ambient light of a lamp, or the sun.
<commit_msg>title<commit_after>---
layout: post
title: Yes, Dark Mode Reduces Eyestrain
categories: [Software,Programming]
image: content/images/light-mode_dark-mode.jpg
---

Like so many other debates on the internet, we seem to be doomed to forever relitigate the question of whether "Dark Mode" color schemes are actually easier on the eyes than their "Light Mode" counterparts.

Here's the most recent version of this argument that cropped up in my feed on Twitter:

{% include figure.html filename="light-mode_dark-mode_tweet.png" description="Yes, I use Twitter in 'Lights out' mode" %}

The thing that's weird about it to me is that the argument against having a dark theme is always made with this sort of accusatory, skeptical tone: is it ___really___ easier on the eyes? Do people ___really___ like it, or are they just being fashionable?

I'm not sure whether this antagonism is borne out of being a developer who doesn't want to have to support multiple themes in their own app, or what. What difference does it make to you if other people enjoy a different color scheme? I don't really care if other people prefer light mode - I use dark mode because my job requires me to look at computer screens all day, every day, and dark mode doesn't give me headaches.

I have an astigmatism, which I'm sure affects my opinion on this - but I can say that yes, dark mode themes are ___definitely much easier on my eyes___ compared to light-mode themes. I get intense eye-strain pretty quickly when looking at anything with a plain white background on a computer screen.

## Under blackpool lights

The reason for this is pretty simple: [PC screens are backlit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlight). There's a big LED light behind the screen that is shining towards your eyeballs. This is the difference-maker, and it's the reason mostly-white themes on a PC screen cause so much more eye strain than a printed book or a Kindle reader (the actual readers, not the Android tablets). 

{% include figure.html filename="Overhead-School-Projector.jpg" description="" %}

You're staring directly into a light, and the bigger the portion of the screen that's showing bright white, the more quickly your eyes become strained. It's more like trying to read a piece of paper that's lit from behind by a light table than reading something by the ambient light of a lamp, or the sun.

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