HACKER Q&A
📣 morkalork

Does anyone else with astigmatism not like dark-mode?


It looks like dark-mode themes have finally taken off in the mainstream and become the default in many new apps and websites. The bright white text on a black background also feels like my eyes are being stabbed when reading it. Am I alone in this? Are all trendy designers kids with good vision?

  👤 JohnFen Accepted Answer ✓
I don't have astigmatism, but I also find dark mode unpleasant.

My memory is that it became a thing not so much because of eye comfort but because OLED displays use less power when displaying black. I could be misremembering, though.

👤 apothegm
[delayed]
👤 herbst
I have astigmatism and prefer dark themes as (for me) it's way less eye strain (and battery usage). Not sure if it's related or more a taste thing
👤 manuisin
It’s a well known fact that some types of astigmatism (the kind I have too) causes light text on dark bg to look blurry i.e. the text to be somewhat doubled.

I got a pair of glasses made that only fix my astigmatism to use with computers.

👤 Simorgh
I used to love dark mode, but in the summer months, I came to feel that it's overly depressive, possibly affecting my mood.

In the winter months, it's slightly more usable because of association with lower lighting, darkness and even coziness. However, I think it can affect mood irrespective of the time of year.

Nowadays, I'm often experimenting with the idea of displays which are backlit with colours other than pure white or pure black.

👤 gethly
In short, it is the worst fad the is plaguing the internet nowadays.
👤 dysoco
I have astigmatism and have not found any issues with glares in white-on-black, I think you should use themes with dark/light grey/blue/etc. anyways and not directly white and black.

However I do find light themes more pleasant, obviously at night I tend to switch to a dark theme but during the day I prefer to keep them light, I find them more pleasant and aesthetic.