In 1918, with Gen Black Jack Pershing off to France to stop the Germans in World War I, the United States instituted Daylight Saving Time. The public were told it was to save energy sources that would be needed for the war but in June America stopped the Germans cold at the Marne, and then pushed them back toward Germany in July, and by November had ended that war.

Yet Daylight Saving Time remained. It still exists 100 years later despite energy savings claims long being debunked, and it being broadly unpopular. Government routinely says they might change it, but when they do they say they would switch permanently to the one everyone actually hates the most, which is the most government thing you will read today. 

Standard time is a closer match to our circadian rhythms, and if you accept epidemiological claims it reduces risks of heart disease and depression, because Daylight Saving Time causes later sunrises. Government naturally proposes making DST permanent rather than following science.

It may be because they read surveys. Though people prefer Standard Time, due to switching in the fall they react more negatively to it than to Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the spring. Remember that kind of thinking the next time someone insists weedkillers cause cancer and organic food makes you healthier.



The results showing people hate the switch to the thing they actually prefer used Twitter mentions within a 20-day period on either side of the time changes across the U.S between 2019 and 2023. People complained about both but complained more about the 'fall back' part - even though for the next four months they'd be in line with human science, and psychology as well.

When DST is described, people don't like it, but the odd flip in perception may be because most don't really recognize which is which, they associate DST with warmer weather and longer days while ST is colder.

Or people on Twitter just complain all of the time and this is just another way to vent.

Anyway, enjoy spring. But tell politicians to standardize on Standard Time regardless of what you see on social media.

Citation: Ellman B, Smith ML, Reeling C, Widmar NJO (2026) Social media analysis reflects the negative sentiments experienced at both time changes with somewhat more depressive impact in early fall. PLoS One 21(3): e0342789. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0342789