Examination of distraction and discomfort caused by using glare monitors: a simultaneous electroencephalography and eye-tracking study

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, remote work and education and digital display use have become more prevalent. However, compared with printed material, digital displays cause more eye fatigue and may decrease task performance. For instance, the reflections on the monitor can cause discomfort or distraction, particularly when glare monitors are used with black backgrounds. METHODS: This study simultaneously uses electroencephalography (EEG) and an eye-tracker to measure the possible negative effects of using a glare monitor on the illegibility of sentences. RESULTS: The experiment results showed no difference in reading time and subjective illegibility rating between glare and non-glare monitors. However, with glare monitors, eye fixation when reading lasted longer. Further, EEG beta (15–20 Hz) power variations suggested that the participants were less engaged in the reading task when a glare monitor was used with a black background. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the negative effects of using a glare monitor are subtle but certainly present. They also show that physiological measures such as EEG and eye tracking can assess the subtle effects in an objective manner, even if behavioral measures such as subjective illegibility ratings or reading time may not show the differences.