An Exploration of Effects of Dark Mode on University Students: A Human Computer Interface Analysis

Abstract

This research dives into exploring the dark mode effects on students of a university. Research is carried out implementing the dark mode in e-Learning sites and its impact on behavior of the users. Students are spending more time in front of the screen for their studies especially after the pandemic. The blue light from the screen during late hours affects circadian rhythm of the body which negatively impacts the health of humans including eye strain and headache. The difficulty that students faced during the time of interacting with various e-Learning sites especially during late hours was analyzed using different techniques of HCI like survey, interview, evaluation methods and principles of design. Dark mode is an option which creates a pseudo inverted adaptable interface by changing brighter elements of UI into a dim-lit friendly environment. It is said that using dark mode will lessen the amount of blue light emitted and benefit students who suffer from eye strain. Students' interactions with dark mode were investigated using a survey, and an e-learning site with a dark mode theme was created. Based on the students' comments, researchers looked into the effects of dark mode on HCI in e-learning sites. The findings indicate that students have a clear preference for dark mode: 79.7% of survey participants preferred dark mode on their phones, and 61.7% said they would be interested in seeing this feature added to e-learning websites.