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This is a topic I really just don't understand. I've seen dozens and dozens of articles about it in the last couple of years. The only two possibilities I see a

This is a topic I really just don't understand. I've seen dozens and dozens of articles about it in the last couple of years. The only two possibilities I see are either 1) people actually care about this issue, an issue which I've never in my life given one picogram of thought about, it doesn't affect me in the slightest - twice a year we adjust the clocks by an hour, how does this actually bother a significant chunk of people enough to be upset over it? or 2) the articles are some sort of long-running propaganda campaign pushing the idea for some reason, but I can't for the life of me figure out what they'd gain from it. Is there some sort of political/social power to be gained from getting rid of daylight saving time? Maybe just another "us vs them" divisive issue? I just can't understand it.

tshaddox 3y ago
It’s a little silly to ask “why do people care so much about this?” I just think changing the time twice a year is worse than…simply not doing that.
- ipqk 3y ago
  But is it worse than shifting our daylight hours for the benefit of (almost) everyone? I don't think so.
fnordpiglet 3y ago
If you work with people around the world it’s maddening for them that meetings shift around to times that no longer work for them. It’s actually a huge PITA and there’s no modern reason to do this. This especially impacts people in remote timezones where the 11pm meeting is now 12am, or worse, the 7am meeting is now 6am. People who work at global companies and are seated outside the US are massively inconvenienced by this absurdity. I’m sure others here will cite the sleep disturbance it causes as well as depression and anxiety due to the sleep disruption. It’s like a tiny jet lag for no practical benefit.
- ipqk 3y ago
  The practical benefit is that, in the summer, you take an hour of sunlight that would normal be around 5-6am where almost no one is awake, and you append it to the evening where nearly everyone will happily appreciate it.
  - herewulf 3y ago
    If that's what you appreciate, then feel free to adjust your schedule. Don't drag the rest of us into this. Messing with clocks and changing DST dates is absurd. If schools, companies, etc want to shift their schedule, then that's on them too.
    - ipqk 3y ago
      I'd hardly call a billion people getting to use an extra ~200-240 hours of sunlight a year absurd.
      - fnordpiglet 3y ago
        They can wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. Nothing prevents them from utilizing the sunlight due to a nominal time designation. But the time designation changes the structure of all activity unrelated to sunlight for no obvious reason other than “I don’t want to wake up an hour earlier to get that extra hour of sunlight.”
      - culopatin 3y ago
        If that’s the case then why don’t we keep the DST permanent? Winter days are short no matter what. Either it’s dark when you leave home or when you wake up.
        fnordpiglet 3y ago
        Being in the PNW I for one would rather the sun go down at 4 in the winter than 3. Losing an hour of sunlight at 10pm in the summer is ok for me. I have blackout shades specifically because the sun is up too late in the summer in the northern US.
voxl 3y ago
if you're trying to choose between the obvious scenario: people get annoyed at losing an hour of sleep randomly once a year. And the highly unlikely: a country-wide conspiracy to use DST as a wedge issue. You may want to consider whether or not you believe in a flat earth and how that is affecting your other judgments.
playingalong 3y ago
There are numerous effects DST might have on people. Having to turn the clock is indeed the smallest of the concerns. Parents of preschool or school children know the impact. Somehow for some of the kids the "biological clock" is stronger than for an adult. So twice a year you are fighting against that.

tshaddox 3y ago

It’s a little silly to ask “why do people care so much about this?” I just think changing the time twice a year is worse than…simply not doing that.

ipqk 3y ago
But is it worse than shifting our daylight hours for the benefit of (almost) everyone? I don't think so.

fnordpiglet 3y ago

If you work with people around the world it’s maddening for them that meetings shift around to times that no longer work for them. It’s actually a huge PITA and there’s no modern reason to do this. This especially impacts people in remote timezones where the 11pm meeting is now 12am, or worse, the 7am meeting is now 6am. People who work at global companies and are seated outside the US are massively inconvenienced by this absurdity. I’m sure others here will cite the sleep disturbance it causes as well as depression and anxiety due to the sleep disruption. It’s like a tiny jet lag for no practical benefit.

ipqk 3y ago
The practical benefit is that, in the summer, you take an hour of sunlight that would normal be around 5-6am where almost no one is awake, and you append it to the evening where nearly everyone will happily appreciate it.
- herewulf 3y ago
  If that's what you appreciate, then feel free to adjust your schedule. Don't drag the rest of us into this. Messing with clocks and changing DST dates is absurd. If schools, companies, etc want to shift their schedule, then that's on them too.
  - ipqk 3y ago
    I'd hardly call a billion people getting to use an extra ~200-240 hours of sunlight a year absurd.
    - fnordpiglet 3y ago
      They can wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. Nothing prevents them from utilizing the sunlight due to a nominal time designation. But the time designation changes the structure of all activity unrelated to sunlight for no obvious reason other than “I don’t want to wake up an hour earlier to get that extra hour of sunlight.”
    - culopatin 3y ago
      If that’s the case then why don’t we keep the DST permanent? Winter days are short no matter what. Either it’s dark when you leave home or when you wake up.
      - fnordpiglet 3y ago
        Being in the PNW I for one would rather the sun go down at 4 in the winter than 3. Losing an hour of sunlight at 10pm in the summer is ok for me. I have blackout shades specifically because the sun is up too late in the summer in the northern US.

voxl 3y ago

if you're trying to choose between the obvious scenario: people get annoyed at losing an hour of sleep randomly once a year. And the highly unlikely: a country-wide conspiracy to use DST as a wedge issue. You may want to consider whether or not you believe in a flat earth and how that is affecting your other judgments.

playingalong 3y ago

There are numerous effects DST might have on people. Having to turn the clock is indeed the smallest of the concerns. Parents of preschool or school children know the impact. Somehow for some of the kids the "biological clock" is stronger than for an adult. So twice a year you are fighting against that.