Answer telephone surveys? Why or why not?

[Brickjectivity]

Suppose I am some do-gooder who wants to help the stranger that calls and asks me for data that they 'Need' from me.

• Does answering a telephone survey serve the public good?
• Is it going to be used to buy and sell votes, and does it give me a greater voice or a lesser voice?

Sorry if it seems like a trick question. Its not. Enlighten me, because this topic may be eluding me. My instinct is to turn down telephone surveys, which is what I have been doing. I feel only too happy to leave a hole in the data-sphere. Is this approach wrong?

Also for similar reasons I: don't use VIP cards at shops, try to use multiple profiles on firefox and chrome to access different services, don't use fb, instagram, discord, always have multiple email accounts, and I don't have my main email associated with my phone.

 

[Orbit]

Suppose I am some do-gooder who wants to help the stranger that calls and asks me for data that they 'Need' from me.

• Does answering a telephone survey serve the public good?
• Is it going to be used to buy and sell votes, and does it give me a greater voice or a lesser voice?

Sorry if it seems like a trick question. Its not. Enlighten me, because this topic may be eluding me. My instinct is to turn down telephone surveys, which is what I have been doing. I feel only too happy to leave a hole in the data-sphere. Is this approach wrong?

Also for similar reasons I: don't use VIP cards at shops, try to use multiple profiles on firefox and chrome to access different services, don't use fb, instagram, discord, always have multiple email accounts, and I don't have my main email associated with my phone.

It depends on who's calling. Gallup, Reuters/Ipsos, Pew, I would do the survey, as a public service. A political organization or business calling? No way.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I don't answer calls that I don't recognize the caller...so I haven't been part of a phone survey for many years now. I have nothing against legitimate surveys, but they're unlikely to get through to me nowadays...

 

[Left Coast]

It depends on who's calling. Gallup, Reuters/Ipsos, Pew, I would do the survey, as a public service. A political organization or business calling? No way.

The problem is, many organizations use third party survey businesses to conduct surveys and they keep their clients confidential. I once participated in a phone survey about my political opinions and I asked the woman on the other end what organization this poll was for and she said she didn't even know, that information is kept private even from the phone staff.

 

[Left Coast]

Suppose I am some do-gooder who wants to help the stranger that calls and asks me for data that they 'Need' from me.

• Does answering a telephone survey serve the public good?
• Is it going to be used to buy and sell votes, and does it give me a greater voice or a lesser voice?

Sorry if it seems like a trick question. Its not. Enlighten me, because this topic may be eluding me. My instinct is to turn down telephone surveys, which is what I have been doing. I feel only too happy to leave a hole in the data-sphere. Is this approach wrong?

Also for similar reasons I: don't use VIP cards at shops, try to use multiple profiles on firefox and chrome to access different services, don't use fb, instagram, discord, always have multiple email accounts, and I don't have my main email associated with my phone.

In general I don't like to take the time to participate in a phone survey anymore. But if I'm asked to complete a survey online, I'm happy to. I enjoy it and I think it's interesting and informative to see what's being asked.

 

[libre]

I consider big data in politics to be a massive issue - the fact that the three biggest federal parties in my country are constantly associating political stances and partisanship with any personally identifiable they can is a massive concern.

A friend of mine used to tell me that he was expected to document every single conversation he had as a campaigner for the liberalist database. I do fear what these databases would be used for if it fell into the wrong hands or the gov in my country became more outwardly 'totalitarian'.

 

[Secret Chief]

I've never had a phone survey call me afaik - but then calls from anyone not in my contacts remains unanswered and the number gets blocked (if no message is left).

 

[Orbit]

The problem is, many organizations use third party survey businesses to conduct surveys and they keep their clients confidential. I once participated in a phone survey about my political opinions and I asked the woman on the other end what organization this poll was for and she said she didn't even know, that information is kept private even from the phone staff.

If they wouldn’t identify the entity the survey was for I would refuse.

 

[Quintessence]

Phone surveys are (or should I say were) a standard data collection instrument used for legitimate research purposes. And by research, I specifically mean academia and the sciences, which are done in the pursuit of knowledge and not for personal profit or gain. I did survey work myself in the past, though I did not do phone surveys both because it didn't make sense for my sample frame and because phones have become a more problematic way of gathering data with the decline of landline phones. Yes, responding to research surveys serves a public good.

Phone surveys are also used by less legitimate parties for personal profit or gain. Those you should feel more than comfortable skipping. It's not hard to tell the difference. Proper surveys will always be very transparent about why they are, why they are contacting you, and get informed consent to participate.

 

[Left Coast]

If they wouldn’t identify the entity the survey was for I would refuse.

At that point in the conversation I was already mostly done with the survey so I said eh **** it lol.

 

[Vinayaka]

Suppose I am some do-gooder who wants to help the stranger that calls and asks me for data that they 'Need' from me.

• Does answering a telephone survey serve the public good?
• Is it going to be used to buy and sell votes, and does it give me a greater voice or a lesser voice?

Sorry if it seems like a trick question. Its not. Enlighten me, because this topic may be eluding me. My instinct is to turn down telephone surveys, which is what I have been doing. I feel only too happy to leave a hole in the data-sphere. Is this approach wrong?

Also for similar reasons I: don't use VIP cards at shops, try to use multiple profiles on firefox and chrome to access different services, don't use fb, instagram, discord, always have multiple email accounts, and I don't have my main email associated with my phone.

If I have the time, I usually ask them who is doing the survey, and inevitably they give the name of the survey company. Then I ask them who hired them, and if I can't get an answer to that, I say no. I do admit that in the past I have given totally incorrect answers, most likely on opinion polls. I think polling is a factor in sheep mentality, and since I don't like sheep mentality ...

 

[Stevicus]

Suppose I am some do-gooder who wants to help the stranger that calls and asks me for data that they 'Need' from me.

• Does answering a telephone survey serve the public good?
• Is it going to be used to buy and sell votes, and does it give me a greater voice or a lesser voice?

Sorry if it seems like a trick question. Its not. Enlighten me, because this topic may be eluding me. My instinct is to turn down telephone surveys, which is what I have been doing. I feel only too happy to leave a hole in the data-sphere. Is this approach wrong?

Also for similar reasons I: don't use VIP cards at shops, try to use multiple profiles on firefox and chrome to access different services, don't use fb, instagram, discord, always have multiple email accounts, and I don't have my main email associated with my phone.

I don't generally answer calls from numbers I'm not familiar with, although I would usually politely decline to take part in any survey if asked. A short online survey might be okay from time to time.

Sometimes, I wonder why there are those who go to all this extraordinary effort towards surveys and polls just to find out what people think, when there are message boards, social media platforms, and a plethora of other sites where multitudes of people tell the whole world what they think. There are some people who seemingly dedicate their whole lives to making YouTube videos just to tell people what they think.

So, if anyone wants to know what people think, it's all out there on the World Wide Web. They don't need surveys to find out what people think.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Suppose I am some do-gooder who wants to help the stranger that calls and asks me for data that they 'Need' from me.

• Does answering a telephone survey serve the public good?
• Is it going to be used to buy and sell votes, and does it give me a greater voice or a lesser voice?

Sorry if it seems like a trick question. Its not. Enlighten me, because this topic may be eluding me. My instinct is to turn down telephone surveys, which is what I have been doing. I feel only too happy to leave a hole in the data-sphere. Is this approach wrong?

Also for similar reasons I: don't use VIP cards at shops, try to use multiple profiles on firefox and chrome to access different services, don't use fb, instagram, discord, always have multiple email accounts, and I don't have my main email associated with my phone.

If I could only zap em through the phone for wasting my time.

I might reconsider if I get significant financial compensation however.