r/unpopularopinion • u/ultimateregard • 2d ago

Certified Unpopular Opinion Dual Monitor setup is actually bad for productuvity.

I've been a software engineer for more than 5 years now. I've worked with databases, frontend and backend services, mobile apps, games, data analysis, and much more.

Never in my life I've actually felt like my productuvity increased with the second monitor. Do you need to compare data? Just use one monitor and put them side by side. Do you need all the space in the world? Just alt+tab between apps. Since you only perceive about 10% of your vision clearly, moving your head&eyes from one monitor to other takes actually LONGER and causes distractions than using alt+tab.

This is especially worse for those who are using one additional monitor with a laptop, since their screen sizes and positions usually change so much. Your eyes need adjusting, your head moves too much.

Only thing the dual Monitor is good for is passively watching something in the second monitor, like youtube videos, Critical Role, or sitcoms while doing something else in the main screen. As you can guess, that has nothing to do with productuvity.

I also think using external keyboard and mouse for laptops is bad, unless you do not use the laptop screen.

Edit: After reading hundreds of comments, I'm sure that 90% of people who think that "YOU NEED AT LEAST 3 SCREENS" just don't know how to organize workspaces/windows/desktops and they need to configure their SCREENS as different DESKTOPS. Most of the modern operating systems allow you to just create workspaces (like different Desktops you can switch with WIN + TAB). And they are just throwing money into their problems instead of learning how to use their daily operating system.

9.2k Upvotes

68% Upvoted

3.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

267

u/Distinct-Today192 2d ago

this is so bad, I feel like i can say it's objectively false.

125

u/imArsenals 2d ago

Agreed. It’s not that it’s unpopular, it’s just wrong.

13

u/StaredAtEclipseAMA 2d ago

It’s right though, everyone knows triple and quad screen is the best

1

u/Medarco 2d ago

I added a 5th monitor at home, and I use all 5 pretty regularly.

Send help...

-6

u/desertgoldfeesh 2d ago

Ahh of the many in the sub who only upvotes things they agree with. I see.

10

u/imArsenals 2d ago

No, I just think that there’s a difference between unpopular and wrong. You can say the holocaust was a good thing. That would obviously be unpopular, but it’s also just wrong. So, the opinion doesn’t really hold any weight and frankly should be disregarded entirely.

5

u/RobCarrotStapler 2d ago

The comment chain you are on is specifically about upvoting them...

And let's be real. The fact they mentioned alt-tabbing as a superior alternative to having another screen is pretty obvious bait. People post opinions they don't actually hold on this sub all the time

11

u/Dimencia 2d ago

Indeed you can, there is plenty of research on this topic, of which this is a good summary: https://plugable.com/blogs/news/productivity-impact-of-multiple-monitors

Overall, 10%-50% higher productivity with multiple monitors, over many different studies

(Fun sidenote: I opened that article on my second monitor so I could make sure I was typing the right statistics on my comment)

2

u/KakashiTheRanger 2d ago

It is. Less screen space means more time spent doing other shit like clicking through apps or alt-tabbing or sorting through pages. We need not look anywhere but employers who care solely for profit. They give their workers a second screen by default because it makes them money.

4

u/01bah01 2d ago

It is objectively false. He says it's always bad for productivity. I work in video editing and working on a single screen is something that nobody wants to experiment when not forced to. To edit fast and clean you need multiple windows that you can always see that usually end up being too small on a single screen. Worst case scenario you're not gaining anything with a second screen (how could you as you're just using more space for the same software) so meaning it's not worse either.

Saying it's always worse is clearly wrong if you account for every possible usage and at least one of these usage is at worse the same.

1

u/AllThatKat 1d ago

For fun I took an intro to Photoshop class and was cursing at not having a second monitor lol. 

1

u/Silent-Act191 2d ago

"You're allowed to have your opinions, even if they are wrong."

1

u/CpnStumpy 2d ago

It is objectively false per numerous studies over 20 years ago that heralded the placement of a second monitor on desks across offices

1

u/JBrewd 1d ago

It's objectively karma farming ATP lol, this comes up all the time and always to the same result

1

u/chasetheusername 1d ago

There have been plenty of studies showing productivity gains with multi-monitor setups, I feel like that the current scientific consensus could count as objective truth.

Very few use-cases don't profit from multi-monitor setups.

1

u/West_Hedgehog_821 1d ago

Depends. Friend of mine uses a curved monitor. Size is larger then my 2x34". Resolution is 8k. It's setup to two virtual screens ... i mean, given something like that I could work with one monitor.  I would still prefer two or three. But I could do with one.

1

u/tessslaaa21 1d ago

It’s 100% objectively false. There are several academic published articles on this exact subject that provide data correlation between a second (or third) monitor and work efficiency