I have stared at a light mode screen for 16 hours a day for 20 years without even the hint of discomfort. 5 minutes of dark mode and my eyes feel someone is shining lasers at me.

I have concluded that light mode is for light mode people and dark mode is for dark mode people. Making light mode a little darker or dark mode a little lighter isn’t going to change how people experience interfaces. Make light mode for light people and dark mode for dark mode people.

Maybe things are getting brighter, but it hasn’t been noticeable to me.

16 hours a day is a lot. How's your sleep?

Did you ever use CRT monitors or were the computers you used already LCD by the time you were spending significant amounts of time on them?

(Gosh, I feel old thinking about the possibility that someone who's been doing this for 20 years might still be too young to have ever used a CRT monitor.)