Why You Should Reconsider Publishing Your Work in Dark Mode
Do you want to keep 30% of your readers?
Remember when Instagram has just released its dark mode? Everybody was incredibly excited and I genuinely couldn’t understand why.
I was shocked that everyone had such a positive reaction to this news. I was talking to my friends back then, and I kept asking them questions such as:
Don’t your eyes hurt when you read in dark mode? Don’t you feel dizzy?
Don’t you feel nauseous?
Of course, everybody looked at me as if something was wrong. To some degree, they were right.
I didn’t think too much about it and I continued living my Internet life in light mode until one day I went to the optical store. I went there to find myself a pair of computer glasses. Before buying the glasses, I agreed to do an eye test because I wanted to know how good or poor my vision was. After some initial testing, the optician suddenly asked me if I had ever felt dizzy while working on a computer. I was excited by her question. I knew she wasn’t asking me this out of the blue and I was right. After a couple of more tests, she confirmed I had astigmatism.
Let me present a short definition of astigmatism I’ve found on the Mayo Clinic website:
What does this have to do with how you publish your writing?
According to the medically reviewed article written by AnnaMarie Houlis, there are about 30% of people who have astigmatism. That consequently makes up for a third of all your potential readers. Some sources even say, astigmatism is more common than that, but the number “30%” is mentioned more frequently than others.
Using dark mode makes the process of reading and receiving information through the screen harder for people who have astigmatism and that’s something you need to remember when you choose to use dark mode.
What does reading in dark mode mean to your readers with astigmatism?
When people with astigmatism are reading in dark mode, the letters start to ‘bleed into the black background’ making the process quite unbearable. In case you’re interested, this phenomenon is called halation.
Of course, everybody’s situation is different and the severity of a person’s astigmatism influences how hard it is for them to read in dark mode. So, I can only speak about my own experience. As a person with astigmatism, I can tell you that when I see a website or a Medium profile that is done in dark mode, I go away even if I’m interested in the content. Sometimes I even feel guilty about it. So, I apologise to all authors whose work I didn’t read for the single reason of it being published in dark mode. It’s not you, it’s me. I know you are not doing this to me on purpose.
What’s it like?
I can’t read using dark mode. It makes me dizzy, nauseous and tired. To be honest, it’s not the dark mode specifically. It’s any colour combination where letters are lighter than the background. I know it’s hard to imagine this for a person who doesn’t have astigmatism. Many of my friends are huge fans of the dark mode on their phones and social accounts. That’s why I am writing this article. I know that many writers and content creators are not aware of this issue because they’ve never dealt with it. Try asking your friends about it and if the science is correct, about 30% of them would tell you about the same struggles.
So, here are some examples of how my astigmatism eyes react to screen time. Let’s take a day when I have a lot of writing/reading to do. Let’s imagine that the only breaks I have are for eating, going to the bathroom and a quick run to the grocery store. With these conditions, screen time I’m able to bear on my computer is:
- 8–10 hours with my glasses and with a standard light mode. After that, I might have a bit of vertigo, but at this point, I’m not even sure it’s related solely to astigmatism. It could be simple tiredness after 8 hours of work.
- 3–4 hours without my glasses and with a standard light mode. If I continue working, I get a bit of vertigo and if I continue, my condition gradually worsens.
- 30–40 minutes with or without glasses when letters are lighter than the background (not black & white). First, my eyes would start hurting a little and then go all the other symptoms I described above.
- 10 minutes with or without glasses and in dark mode. If I continue to read in dark mode, I get a type of vertigo where you have to sit or lie down for a second without looking at any screens.
I wish I was exaggerating. I have tried to read in dark mode hundreds of times. Sometimes the title of the article is very interesting and I really want to know what the author has written on the topic. Other times I might find a perfect source for my own article and be stuck in a dilemma — to read or not to read.
I must add that the situation is a bit better when I’m reading on my phone. After talking to other people with astigmatism, I can say that the distance between a person and a screen plays an important role in how symptoms present themselves. The further you are from the screen — the worse it might get.
But what about your personal style?
I understand that dark mode can be your preference and it might suit very well with your own style and aesthetic. Of course, you have every right to use it. The only thing I am asking you to do is to try to make the light mode accessible to your readers where and when you have a choice.
Unfortunately, you can’t really do that on Medium. However, if it’s your website, there is sometimes an option to install a light/dark mode switch and trust me, all the people with astigmatism would really appreciate it.
