Daylight Saving Time

[chipbennett]

This shows that while when asked there are several opinions, there is no majority opinion. Do you hear folks complaining about this other than clock change time?

Policies that Americans prefer​

A bar chart showing what policy Americans prefer according to a YouGov poll on Daylight Saving Time.

Change to permanent DST
31%

Keep changing clocks twice a year
21%

Change to permanent standard time
19%

Not sure if change
17%

Change, but no preference/not sure
11%

Chart: Shayanne Gal/Insider Source: YouGov poll from March 6–9, 2023

So, 61% of respondents want to stop changing clocks twice a year (three times as many as the 21% of respondents who want to keep changing clocks twice a year), and you claim that there is no strong opinion one way or the other?

 

[CindyE]

Maf is hard. The point is there is no organized majority that wants to change it in any configuration. In the real world I have never heard such weeping and nashing of teeth as I do here. There is no political movement on this and outside of the complaining when the time changes it is leaving me to wonder if the hurt is simply over the fact people must update their clocks and it is a reminder to some there are authorities over themselves…

Speaking for myself, and some others that i know, that's wrong. It's not about changing the clocks or authority. I do not like it and i have trouble getting used to it.

 

[chipbennett]

Maf is hard. The point is there is no organized majority that wants to change it in any configuration. In the real world I have never heard such weeping and nashing of teeth as I do here. There is no political movement on this and outside of the complaining when the time changes it is leaving me to wonder if the hurt is simply over the fact people must update their clocks and it is a reminder to some there are authorities over themselves…

I'm going to double-down on this comment. The data from the very survey that you linked/posted showed that 61% of people want to stop changing clocks, while only 21% of people want to keep changing clocks.

61% vs 21%: That's 3:1 in favor of stopping the practice of changing clocks twice a year. The only disagreement is the state in which to leave the clocks once we stop changing them.

This is about as big of an own-goal as one can get on this issue.

Edit: topline, it's actually 62%.

 

[chipbennett]

This YouGov survey is the gift that keeps on giving!

Look at what came in #1 and #2 as most important in deciding clock time. Note also that "economy" came in dead last, and that "midnight golf" didn't even appear on the list (though, the possibly related option, "saving electricity" came in second-to-last):

 

[jamil]

Something I posted elsewhere a few years ago:

"Let’s get one thing straight- Daylight Saving Time was not created for farming. Farmers care about sunlight NOT THE TIME ON THE CLOCK. They are going to do what they need to do when it needs to be done regardless of what a clock reads. I keep hearing local news people saying that it was for the farmers. That makes absolutely no sense. Widespread acceptance of Daylight Saving Time had more to do with industrial workers who had set work hours."

So you’re saying we shifted the need for DST to China.

 

[rhamersley]

So you’re saying we shifted the need for DST to China.

I'm going to go with DST being a conspiracy forced upon Americans by the HOA's and the cyclists' unions...

 

[chipbennett]

I'm going to go with DST being a conspiracy forced upon Americans by the HOA's and the cyclists' unions...

Well-played, Rex! (Also, good to see you! One day, when my travel schedule slows down, I plan to come back...)

 

[rhamersley]

Well-played, Rex! (Also, good to see you! One day, when my travel schedule slows down, I plan to come back...)

Sorry, I'm not Rex...but I don't live far from you and be glad to see you.

 

[chipbennett]

Sorry, I'm not Rex...but I don't live far from you and be glad to see you.

An R. Hammersly, who is a Mechanical Engineer, from Danville. How are there two of you?!?

Anyway, my bad. Nice to meet you!

 

[rhamersley]

An R. Hammersly, who is a Mechanical Engineer, from Danville. How are there two of you?!?

Anyway, my bad. Nice to meet you!

Ah, it's in the spelling of the last name. There are some Hammersly's that I've been confused with before. One happened to own the Brownsburg Bowl...that was a confusing phone call when they asked me something about refinishing lanes.

 

[Ingomike]

I mean, yeah, kind of. At least in my experience this seems pretty true. And I don't see why it's a bad thing either. It seems pretty well within the traditional American spirit of liberty and independence to resent a government that has become so intrusive into our lives as to try to dictate that twice a year we shift our time for work, school, or any other regularly scheduled activity that goes off the clock. All because they evidently think us peasants need their regulations in order to manage our schedules so as to allow enough daylight hours for our outdoor activities.

I believe that the management of time is an appropriate function of government.

In my experience, the main reason there's no organized majority among us people who really dislike DST is because we just don't like the changing clocks part, and don't really care what system we go to if we can stop changing time back and forth twice a year. So if you give us a poll that requires us to pick an option of what time system we want to go with instead, it'll make us look more divided than we really are, when all we really want is to stop changing the clocks.

If you look at the numbers I posted in post #448, from the article, even if the 11% like you were added to the 31%, that still is far from a majority. That is the largest group.

I don't really have hard evidence to back this up; I generally distrust polls, and I'm not scientific enough to know which ones you can trust. I just suspect the above is a factor, based on my own experience.

Properly constructed and conducted polls can be insightful. Where that mistrust originates is from dishonest political polling on highly contentious issues. I have no reason to suspect the numbers in the article were way off. It seems in line with the cross-section of people I have met,

This is where I have the opposite experience. In real life, I've pretty much lived in an echo chamber. Everyone I have ever talked to face to face about DST has expressed just about exactly the same sentiment I have: I don't give a care what time configuration we go with, just stop changing the darn clocks twice a year. Before I found this thread, I'd never actually met anyone who liked DST, even online, so at least on the plus side I've finally found someone who can explain to me why they think it's a good idea. Doesn't make me like it anymore, but at least I can finally believe that someone who likes DST does actually exist (assuming you're not just an advanced robot, of course. I haven't actually met you face to face yet. )

In this dumbed down era I doubt many under 40 could even explain DST and what is good and bad, but I suspect if we just didn’t tell them and did not change this year, about the end of May they would be wondering why it was getting dark so early every night.

 

[Ingomike]

In a sane world, where no strong political will exists one way or the other, the default position should be to implement the policy that causes the least harm/inconvenience - which in this case is clearly to stop changing clocks twice a year.

And in my life it clearly is more harm/inconvenience to stop changing clocks twice a year…

 

[DoggyDaddy]

And in my life it clearly is more harm/inconvenience to stop changing clocks twice a year…

Show us on the doll where the bad clock touched you...

 

[Ingomike]

So, 61% of respondents want to stop changing clocks twice a year (three times as many as the 21% of respondents who want to keep changing clocks twice a year), and you claim that there is no strong opinion one way or the other?

It always is always reliable to count 100% of both sides of those with an opposite view with the undecided to create a majority…

 

[Ingomike]

I'm going to double-down on this comment. The data from the very survey that you linked/posted showed that 61% of people want to stop changing clocks, while only 21% of people want to keep changing clocks.

61% vs 21%: That's 3:1 in favor of stopping the practice of changing clocks twice a year. The only disagreement is the state in which to leave the clocks once we stop changing them.

This is about as big of an own-goal as one can get on this issue.

Edit: topline, it's actually 62%.
View attachment 338255

And if I asked another leading question I likely could get 62% to say they want more light after work. Obviously, for whatever reason the actual act of changing clocks a PIA so that is always going to get a strong number, but the benefits also will get a strong number if asked.

 

[Ingomike]

This YouGov survey is the gift that keeps on giving!

Look at what came in #1 and #2 as most important in deciding clock time. Note also that "economy" came in dead last, and that "midnight golf" didn't even appear on the list (though, the possibly related option, "saving electricity" came in second-to-last):
View attachment 338259

BS cherry picked questions. Nothing about more light in the evening, one question about light in the morning being led as a safety question for kids.

 

[chipbennett]

And in my life it clearly is more harm/inconvenience to stop changing clocks twice a year…

Sure. I call shenanigans.

Also, the impact on society is clear and inarguable. That one person likes it doesn't trump the obvious, overall societal impact.

 

[chipbennett]

It always is always reliable to count 100% of both sides of those with an opposite view with the undecided to create a majority…

The undecideds weren't included in either the 61% (62%) or the 21%.

62% + 21% = 83%. Undecideds were 17%. Total = 100%.

Did you even read the data in the survey you posted?

 

[chipbennett]

And if I asked another leading question I likely could get 62% to say they want more light after work. Obviously, for whatever reason the actual act of changing clocks a PIA so that is always going to get a strong number, but the benefits also will get a strong number if asked.

Leading question?!? Leading question?!? It's the base, underlying question of the survey.

 

[chipbennett]

BS cherry picked questions. Nothing about more light in the evening, one question about light in the morning being led as a safety question for kids.

Ripping apart the survey that you linked/referenced because it actually disproves your argument is... a tactic, I guess.