This year, Daylight Savings will start on Sunday, March 8th and will end on Sunday, November 1st. The point of Daylight Savings time is to make better use of the sunlight we receive. Many countries have different daylight savings time dates. Arizona and Hawaii are the only states in America that do not observe daylight savings time. Some countries, such as China, Japan, South Korea, Ireland, and many more also do not observe daylight savings time according to Sleep.org.
Time and Date states that Daylight Savings takes one hour of our regular day (moving time on hour forward) in the spring. Then in the autumn, Daylight Savings ends and standard time begins. It is half right that people say that evenings are longer during Daylight Savings, as the sun sets and rises at a later time on the clock, which makes it feel like a longer evening. However, Daylight Savings only alters the time on our clocks, not the Sun’s course.
According to Wikipedia, George Hudson invented this idea back in 1895. As of this, many countries have used it, especially during the 1970’s energy crisis. However, Daylight Savings can cause timekeeping conflicts, on analog clocks (computer software automatically updates digital clocks) and can potentially disrupt sleep and travel.
Also, according to Time and Date, less than 40% of the world uses Daylight Savings. Countries near the equator find it unnecessary to use Daylight Savings due to the lack of day length variation. At least 140 countries have used Daylight Savings one time, but many have abolished it, so as to not raise concerns about it.
WebExhibits shows that Daylight Savings saves energy, by saving small amounts of energy each day. In the summer, however, waking up early causes energy to be wasted. In the winter, during Daylight Savings, more energy is required because many people need light when they are at businesses. But, for all the four seasons, energy is being saved, but energy is saved least during the winter.
Based on a survey (surveying 18 people), 38.9% like Daylight Savings and think it is effective, while 38.9% dislike Daylight Savings and do not think it is effective. Another 22.2% said other answers.
For those who liked it, they mostly said it made sense due to the lengths of the days and nights, and it also goes well with the sun pattern. Mason Schiff, a 6th grader from Cabin John Middle School said, “Daylight savings time is useful because it helps keep the time from getting all mixed up and it makes sense. Since days are longer in the summer, nights should be later. If days are shorter in the winter, nights should be shorter.”
For those who disliked it, they said that time was being taken away and they don’t see any point in daylight savings. They might not be able to do their own activities because it would get too dark. It can disrupt sleeping times and cause irritation due to the confusion of moving their clocks back.
A 6th grader from Cabin John Middle School named Jessica Zhang states, “I do not like Daylight Savings because I like to practice tennis after school, and when it gets dark at 5 pm, I don’t get to play, and I have to wait until summer time. I don’t think it is effective, and all it does is make timing harder. Also, in other places, they don’t even have a thing called Daylight Savings.”
Others with different answers had mixed opinions. For example, a 6th grader from Herbert Hoover Middle School, Braeden Butchko, says, “Daylight savings time can be effective if everyone uses it correctly. For example everyone has equal time zones. Then everyone moves their clocks one hour forward in the spring and one hour back in the fall.”
Daylight Savings can be seen as a good and bad way of timing. It can save energy and make better use of sunlight. Unfortunately, it can cause many arguments, disrupt timing, sleep, activities, and cause a lot of confusion.
Article written by Qwyen Le of Cabin John Middle School
Graphic by Sophia Li of Takoma Park Middle School