The Dark Side of Digital Workspaces: A Study on the Impact of Dark Mode

With increasing customization options in Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), the choice of dark themes over light ones is becoming increasingly popular. Yet, the impact of these theme choices on developer productivity and well-being remains unclear. To investigate this, we conducted a comprehensive survey involving 284 participants, examining relationships between theme preferences and various factors, including age, workspace lighting, eyestrain, and coding errors. Our findings revealed that younger people used dark mode much more frequently; surprisingly, dark mode users also had higher reports of eyestrain. Moreover, dark mode users working in dimmer environments reported reduced sleep time and increased moderate eyestrain. Amongst late night users, dark mode users reported fewer coding errors but amongst younger users they reported fewer productive hours. While our study suggests correlations, establishing causality requires additional research. Our study invites further exploration into IDE design, ergonomics, and developer health.