Digital eye strain is commonly addressed by making changes in computer viewing and wearing eyeglasses with special lenses or coatings. To help individuals who experience sensitivity and fatigue from bright white screens, developers have made dark mode available on their platforms.
Learn more about this accessibility feature and how it affects your eyes in this post.
Switching to Dark Mode
Extended exposure to digital screens can cause computer vision syndrome (CVS) or digital eye strain. Its common symptoms include eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes and neck or shoulder pain. You can visit us at Eyes On Norbeck for an eye exam to determine if you suffer from CVS. We offer computer glasses with blue-blocking lenses and coating to keep your eyes protected.
Also known as night mode, dark mode presents websites, applications, and devices in high contrast or inverted colors. It’s a popular setting for people who aren’t comfortable working with bright screens. It displays a black background with white or colored text to make viewing easier under low-lit conditions.
Apple’s System 7 OS was one of the first to offer this setting in 1991. The company named the feature, CloseView, the accessibility program that allows users to change display settings between black-on-white and white-on-black. Dark mode became available on Twitter app in 2016 while Apple iOS, Andriod and YouTube introduced their versions in 2017.
Is It Better for the Eyes?
Dark mode is ideal in low-light environments, like when you’re using your phone at night. It’s more comfortable and less distracting to read white text on a black background. While you can just reduce the display’s brightness, you tend to squint your eyes while viewing a dim screen.
However, when it comes to readability, black text on a white background is still the best. On white backgrounds, your irises don’t need to open white to absorb enough light. Your lenses aren’t being deformed so you see things sharply. Black backgrounds require your irises to open more, which makes white letters look like they are bleeding. This is mostly experienced by individuals with astigmatism.
Turn to Eyes On Norbeck, your local optometrist, for your eye care needs. We customized treatment options for eye conditions including myopia, hyperopia, dry eye syndrome, pink eye, glaucoma and cataracts. Call us at (301) 241-0553 or fill out our online form to make an appointment. We help patients in Potomac, MD.
