[numpad0]

Would that be, possibly, because:

  - brighter headlights are falsely perceived to be of better quality, or,  
  - they are but more prevalent because of COVID economic downturn necessitating upsells, or,  
  - 2019 is simply 5 years ago, or, 
  - undocumented neurological long-COVID effect is affecting engineers?

[sangnoir]

  - isolation and political polarization concomitant with covid shutdowns accelerated the demise of the social fabric, and generally weakened a prior sense of obligation to others

The majority (>80%) of drivers in my area are permanently on high beam, it wasn't always like this, but has become normalized.

[crnkofe]

Sure some of it is subjective. I'm a big fan of dark UIs. But the fact is that when I say 3-way blinded my entire car is objectively brightly lit so its definitely not just an eye thing. Happy to hear I'm not the only sensitive person around.