DISABILITIES

Light Mode versus Dark Mode

Different strokes for different folks

I’ve noticed that the internet’s population seems divided into two parts — those who like to use dark mode and those who can’t stand it. Since I work in the field of low vision, I thought I would discuss this issue.

I’m afraid, for the time being, both factions of people must learn to “change the channel” if they don’t like their browsing experience on any given page of a site — at least until or unless the site develops a way for users to configure their display preferences for browsing. Enabling such configuration of user preferences is possible, and it can be made to override the preferences of an author in favor of the viewer’s needs. This is possible on Facebook and Livejournal, so I know it can be done elsewhere.

What Is Dark Mode?

Dark mode is also known as white-on-black screen display. It is used to make text stand out when viewed. Along with light mode, or black-on-white, it is considered a high-contrast setting, one of the two most preferable settings for people who have low contrast sensitivity, which means a poor ability to accurately distinguish shapes that have low contrast against their background.

Why do some people use dark mode?

The most common answer is, they like it. It’s different. It lets them use a jewel-tone or darker color as their background. It adds visual interest to a page of text. However, some other people use dark mode to reduce the amount of blue light entering their eyes from a computer screen, especially at night. Blue light from a computer screen can cause the brain to remain alert, which makes falling asleep difficult. The reduction of blue light from dark mode, however, is limited. Other people use a dark background in hopes of reducing eye strain. Dark mode, however, is not very useful for that.

Still other people, who live with low vision for various reasons, find that dark mode helps them to read more easily, making dark mode accessible. People with cataracts, for example, find that dark mode makes text easier to distinguish because light entering their eye is diffused by the cataract in their eye’s lens. This causes them to see haloes around street lights, for…