It has become hard to predict what goes on in the mind of X (formerly known as Twitter) owner Elon Musk ever since he muscled an entire rebranding campaign onto the platform within just 3 days. And the successful maneuvering of the move has perhaps made the billionaire even more ‘unhinged’, at least that is what social media is insinuating. Yesterday, he announced in a tweet, that going forward, the platform will only support dark mode, bringing an instant worry to all those who do not prefer it since reading light-colored text on a dark background can be difficult sometimes. But Musk said, “It is better in every way”.
On July 27, Musk tweeted. replying to an unrelated quote retweet about whether changing the blue tick to the black tick (a fan request) would not make sense in dark mode, and said, “This platform will soon only have “dark mode”. It is better in every way”. The tweet has now gone viral with 6054 likes and over 2000 retweets.
X to only support dark mode
Twitter at the moment supports both light mode and dark mode, and a third setting of dim mode that makes the background dark blue instead of black and is seen as a middle-ground option between keeping the light mode and going black. But if Musk’s words are anything to go by, soon, the light and the dim option will not exist anymore, and users will see a permanent dark mode.
The user interface (UI) change might be outlandish, but it will align with the current X logo, which is also white text on black background. It sticks out a bit on a white background but blends quite well with the dark mode turned on.
However, the move has not gone over too well with all users, and some have even complained that dark mode makes it more difficult for them to read text.
One user said, “Really @elonmusk, PLEASE reconsider. X will be so much less accesible for so many people with dyslexia and/or visual impairments”. Another added to the point and said, “Having dark mode only will cause a loss in accessibility for some users. Specifically with those that have astigmatism (halation with white text on black background) or Irlen Syndrome. 1 in 3 people have astigmatism”.
One user offered a middle ground and said, “Defaulting to dark mode is a good idea. But leaving the choice to light mode is preferable. It’s better for the view”.
