We are a generation of screen zombies. With the access to cheapest data across the globe, screen time of Indians has reached up to 5 hours on an average per day (source). I couldn’t emphasize enough to focus on the impact of screens on our sleep cycle and overall health. Over the years, I have tried to use tech to help me improve my health. One such feature which came across about an year ago was ‘Dark Mode‘ or ‘Night Mode‘.

Dark mode is gaining popularity by the day with so many applications coming up with their own version of it. iOS and Oxygen OS have also come up with default dark system themes. So why is there so much buzz around the dark mode? Are there any real benefits?

Dark Mode and Your Eyes!

It’s a no brainer that in dark surroundings, white light from the screen does has a blinding effect. Checking out time on the phone was no less than a task during ‘pre dark mode’ days. And not only that, exposure to white light suppresses to the secretion of melatonin– the sleep hormone. Therefore, it is recommended to switch to a darker setting if you use phone right before bed (guilty 🙋).

Phone Battery

This is applicable if you are using a phone that has OLED screen. When you are running an LCD screen, the black background means that black coloured pixels are lit. However, in case of an OLED screen, black means those pixels are turned off completely. Therefore, there is a significant improvement in the battery life while using the dark mode. As a matter of fact, I can see a boost of about 90 minutes in the daily juice when I switch to dark mode on my OnePlus 7 pro. Since most of the applications too have an inbuilt dark mode, it only adds to the battery life.

Aesthetics:

Dark Mode looks dope. Can’t argue that. I have always been a fan of light on dark and not the contrary. I came across this possibility about 8 years ago when I purchased iPad 2nd generation. The only app offering this was iBooks. It offered a night reading mode and it instantly made me a fan. I always wondered if the entire OS can have that capability. Lo and Behold, 6 years later, we have it. Here are a few examples for you to compare side by side.

Conclusion:

I am quite confident of the fact that these data consumption habits are here to stay with us for a while. Therefore, it is better that we embrace certain habits which are considerate for our bodies. Also, I would suggest to try to switch between both the modes as per the time of the day. I prefer to set up a timer in my phone where dark mode is auto enabled post 7 PM till 7 AM in the morning. With that being said, starting today, you can switch to dark mode on pandatechie as well from the icon on bottom left of your screen.