Dark Mode Changed How I Use Technology
How dark mode changed what I could comfortably do with technology—and why accessibility should work from the beginning.
September 8, 2026 · Accessibility · About 4 min read
I can't remember the first time I encountered dark mode on a mobile device, but I remember how it felt.
Life-changing.
For years, I struggled to read much of anything on a phone screen, particularly when the text was relatively small. I still used smartphones, but I used them for the minimum viable amount. I could accomplish things with them, but nothing close to what I can accomplish today.
Dark mode changed that.
From Something I Used to Something I Could Rely On
Once I had light text against a dark background, using a phone became dramatically more comfortable.
I started reading books digitally. Today, I don't buy physical books at all. I became much more comfortable doing meaningful work on my phone. Eventually, that preference carried over to computers and nearly every other screen I use.
It wasn't simply that dark mode looked better to me.
It changed what I could comfortably do with the device.
That's an important distinction.
We're Still Missing Some Pieces
Dark mode is much more common today, but there are still plenty of places where it doesn't work—or doesn't go far enough.
At work, for example, I have to use Windows computers with software that isn't particularly dark-mode friendly. I often resort to Windows' color-inversion accessibility feature.
It works, but it comes with compromises.
That's one reason I enjoy using my MacBook so much. There are relatively few places where I can't get the dark or black background I need.
But even Apple isn't completely off the hook.
Mail is one example that continues to frustrate me. I can make most of the interface dark, but the actual contents of an email don't always cooperate. That means I sometimes have a bright white message sitting in the middle of an otherwise dark interface.
And I don't think we should just accept that.
If Notes can give me a consistently dark experience, and Reminders can give me one, I don't see why Mail shouldn't be able to do the same.
Gmail demonstrates that it's possible. I can have emails displayed against a dark background consistently there. On the web, extensions such as Dark Reader can accomplish something similar.
The solution clearly can exist.
Accessibility Shouldn't Require Fighting Through Inaccessibility
There's a bigger issue here than dark mode.
On some of the computers I use at work, even reaching accessibility features such as color inversion or a larger mouse pointer requires digging through settings.
Think about the contradiction in that.
You have to struggle with an inaccessible interface in order to make the interface accessible.
Someone who needs larger text shouldn't first have to navigate tiny text to turn it on. Someone who needs greater contrast shouldn't have to fight through low-contrast menus to find the setting that fixes it.
Accessibility shouldn't begin after setup.
It Should Work From the Beginning
I want dark mode everywhere—or, at the very least, I want it to be an option everywhere.
I don't think people should have to install extensions, invert their entire display, switch applications, or discover obscure settings just to make a screen comfortable to use.
Dark mode fundamentally changed my relationship with technology. It helped turn my phone from something I used when necessary into something I could use comfortably and productively every day.
That's why I'm passionate about it.
And it connects to something I'm beginning to recognize as part of what I want SightForward to stand for:
Technology should be accessible from the moment you turn it on—not after you fight through the discomfort of making it accessible.