Is daylight saving a waste of time?

Twice a year in many countries, like clockwork, people adjust the time as part of daylight saving. Some critics say that daylight saving has alarming health effects, but proponents say it helps make the economy tick. With the European Union and several U.S. states considering winding down the time change, is daylight saving a waste of time?

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Additional resources to think about

Stephen Fry on the history of daylight saving time
An animated video from BBC's iWonder that explores the history of daylight saving and timekeeping throughout history.

Much Of The World Doesn't Do Daylight Saving Time. How Come?
This article from NPR's Goats and Soda takes readers around the world and looks at the implications and history of daylight saving in four countries.

Daylight Saving Time Is Here Again. So Is The Debate About Changing The Clocks.
This NPR article discusses the effects of changing the clocks and how some politicians in Congress are calling for an end to daylight saving.

Daylight Saving Time 101 | National Geographic
About 70 countries around the world practice daylight saving. Find out who came up with the concept of daylight saving time, where the time change was first enacted nationwide, and how some countries are trying to eliminate it.

The Reason Some States Don't Observe Daylight Saving Time
Arizona, Hawaii, and the U.S. Territories don't observe daylight saving - this article from Time Magazine finds out why.

100 years later, the madness of daylight saving time endures
This article from PBS NewsHour takes a look at the history, benefits, and problems with changing the clocks twice a year and heads to Florida’s to see the state's attempt to get the federal government to change its policy on daylight saving.

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Who created this message?

What kind of “text” is it?
How similar or different is it to others of the same genre?
What are the various elements (building blocks) that make up the whole?

What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?

What do you notice (about the way the message is constructed)?
What’s the emotional appeal?
What makes it seem “real?”
What's the emotional appeal? Persuasive devices used?

How might different people understand this message differently from me?

How many other interpretations could there be?
How could we hear about them?
How can you explain the different responses?

What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?

What type of person is the reader/watcher/listener invited to identify with?
What ideas or perspectives are left out?
How would you find what’s missing?
What judgments or statements are made about how we treat other people?

Why is this message being sent?

What's being sold in this message? What's being told?
Who is served by or benefits from the message
– the public?
– private interests?
– individuals?
– institutions?

5 Key Questions of Media Literacy used with permission from the Center for Media Literacy.
Copyright 2002-2021, Center for Media Literacy, www.medialit.com

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