Ask Lemmy

Pretty much anytime I have to read some white or light grey text on a dark background it is punishing on my eyes and I end up with light-lines in my vision temporarily after. I’ve given up on entire websites because they only have a dark theme and the simplified read mode doesnt work. On occasion, when I really needed to read a lot of text from somewhere I will copy and paste into a word processor. Light mode, or anything with dark text on light background, doesn’t strain my eyes nearly so much.

I personally belong to the dark theme cult, but this spring we had to rent a flat for a while where ambient light conditions were just horrible. For the first time in my life I just HAD to use light themes everywhere because dark themes would just make my eyes hurt after a while. So maybe people who prefer light themes just spend most of their time somewhere with dim uneven lights?

Light theme in the day, dark theme at night. Switched automatically by sunset/sunrise time.

I get the impression that the preference for dark mode tends to be more common in Millennial/Gen-Z men.

As an older Gen-X, I cannot stand having dark mode on during the day or light mode at night. I use auto whenever it is available. I don’t know why!

My daughter and her female friends do not have dark mode during the day. My younger coworkers often have dark mode at work, but only the male ones.

I’m curious about those who use dark mode all the time: were you born after 1980 and male?

Saves battery only on oled, but that’s a valid point. and easier in eyes is highly debatable! I absolutely prefer light theme at bright environments but dark theme at night.

Dark is not easy for all eyes. https://www.androidauthority.com/dark-mode-1046425/

I have astigmatism, so dark mode is harder on the eyes when reading text. So, even though I like the aesthetics of dark mode, I need to use light mode to not put so much strain on my eyes.

The battery thing is not true most of the time and the rest is subjective.

What's to say either dark or light is better in all cases all of the time?

I like my phone to look nice and bright, dark mode just make it look so gloomy and makes me feel depressed.

Edit: Also, normally when you read on paper, its a white sheet and black text, reversing the colors just make it... odd.

Battery life is rarely a concern for me; with standard use, not charging all day, my phone is still usually above 30% when I go to plug it in before bed, dark theme is most certainly not easier on my eyes when my surroundings are bright.

Most comes down to contrast to background.

In daylight and with good displays, light theme is much easier on my eyes than dark theme.

At night, it depends whether the screen can be tuned down enough to fit into the environment, then it doesn’t make much difference.

If dark theme works for you in your setup, enjoy.

A lower contrast light theme is better for your eyes in brightly lit spaces. Lower contrast dark theme for dark or dim spaces.

I don’t know where you’re “getting easier on the eyes”. Light mode makes me feel so much more relaxed

If the dark theme is a black background with white text, it hurts my eyes. Dark grey like Lemmy or Gnome works great and is generally my preference.

For me both must coexist. The time light allows me to be able to see the development environment and the elements in situations when there is a lot of light (even if the monitor is anti-glare the light theme is better), while when the light decreases the dark theme does not "shoot a blinding light".

Basically, light or dark? both.

On my phone, it changes to light/dark depending on day/night. For my work computer, it’s only light mode. The ambient light in my office is bright enough that it actually makes it hard to read text in dark mode. Light mode seems easier on my eyes

Dark theme in low light, light theme in bright light.

Unless I can dim and darken the environment, sometimes light is just more legible. I switch to dark as soon as I can, but I don't turn it into a religion (I used to)

Dark theme is hell on astigmatisms; the letters just bleed everywhere and I get wicked eye strain.

I like dark themes, but not black themes. Give me a dark grey, dark blue/navy, dark purple, but black screen and white text is way too aggressive on the eyes.

Also, what happened that we only really get a "dark or light" theme these days if we beg the Tech overlords?

Back in the olden days of Windows 3.1, 95, etc, we could them the shit balls out of our computers. Suddenly 10000 years later, we have to beg Apple or some developer to give us pre-made themes? Sad.

I like the transition depending on sunlight. Both light mode and dark mode look great to me.

Dark mode is harder on the eyes and harder to read.

saves your battery

Maybe, maybe not. For OLED screens, where the pixels themselves generate the brightness, then an overall darker image will save power. For LCD screens with backlights it's the opposite: the backlight is always on and the lowest power state of an individual pixel is to let the light pass through unmodified - the part that costs power is turning the pixel 9n so that it blocks the light to make a black dot. So, your statement isn't true for all (or even most) devices.

Next: I find bright text on a black background to be hardest and most jarring to my vision. Humans have been reading black text on a light medium for millennia; it is natural. Light mode, for me, is easier to read and least tedious for my eyeballs.

I also just think that a light mode look is more polished looking...cleaner.

Dark 'themes'of old were because of flicker on crts. We aren't using crts now. The contrast of dark themes is anything but easy on the eyes.

What a backwards question. The world is light. Text is normally black or blue on white. There are no good reasons to turn your online experience into a dive into a well of darkness where you have to squint and strain your eyes to see the text.

I switched to auto mode after listening to the huberman labs podcast ep on eye health

When I read text in dark mode and look away I can still see an image of the text in my vision for several seconds. I don't know if that's bad or not but it keeps me in light mode most of the time.

Dark themes are not as readable for me.

Bright text on dark background hurts my eyes. It's like it burns in on my vision. As another commenter says, it stays before my eyes after I look away Dark text on light background feels natural, like a newspaper or a book. I use warm color temperatures after dark, it's very comfy.

Dark mode at work, light mode at home/on personal devices. No real explanation why.

Albeit dark themes are more beautiful, in a light environment during daylight, a light background with dark fonts is easier on your eyes.

Some types of application I prefer light, some dark. But the premise is wrong:

Saves your battery

Only if you're using OLED, which most people aren't, and by very little. You could save more battery by using a low-power mode when you don't need all the bells and whistles.

Easy on eyes

Debatable, different for different people.

Dark theme is just nicer

That's not objective, it's personal taste :)

Speaking for my wife, cataracts.