I can’t help but notice that we have arrived at a point in time where every business/post on social media wants to know your opinion. Every social media page, every news website, every streaming platform, every communication app, every single click online for work or time wasting, it’s like everyone everywhere wants your attention, all screaming like your kid at the pool, “LOOK AT ME!! WATCH ME!! WAS IT GOOD? WHAT DID YOU THINK? DID YOU LIKE IT?”

I feel like I can’t navigate anywhere online without some request for attention and opinion, it used to be somewhat exciting. 

But now, it’s annoying and you can’t view anything online without cookies, pop-ups, banners, and exit tickets asking for your opinion. Like a desperate, high school break-up, “LOOK AT ME!! TALK TO ME! WHY WON”T YOU TALK TO ME? I JUST WANT A MINUTE!! I LOVE YOU! LOVE ME! LOVE ME!!!” Even television apps won’t let you watch anything until you “help them out” by answering “a few questions.” 

Well, I have a question. When did businesses become so insecure? I know there has always been an element of insecurity when it comes to the general public, their satisfaction can make or break a company. But it’s like now they are so insecure about their staff that they actively pursue you to fill out questions and leave ratings. Only 2 minutes of your time, they promise.

I don’t get it. Didn’t they hire them in the first place? Surely if they just had better hiring practices and trusted that they hired the right people to do the job wouldn’t they be able to drop the whole end-of-customer-service -survey thing?

Seriously,if I was unsatisfied, they’d hear from me, and no doubt anyone else who was unsatisfied. No worries there. Why do they have so much trouble accepting the old adage, “no news is good news,” ie., if they are not hearing from anyone, everything is just fine. Nothing needs researching or improving.

I will not be answering a few questions. And I do not have a couple of minutes to be distracted by marketing and advertising research. Your couple of minutes plus their couple of minutes, plus just one question, plus “it would really help us out”, equals a whole lot of my wasted time during the day. Never mind my time limitations. They aren’t paying me for my opinion and I don’t really care about “targeted” marketing. 

Anyone with a smartphone experiences “targeted marketing” anyway. Ever talked about something random with someone, like buying a bedazzled dart board for your uncle Steve and for the next week, all your pop-ups on social media and your browsing apps are ads for bedazzlers and dart boards.

I feel pretty confident in saying they are “collecting” their info regardless.  

I realize it must be increasingly difficult for businesses and even entrepreneurs to make an impact, with so much all the time, everywhere you look, people, businesses, and industries vying for attention, Look at me! Watch this! What do you think? This is crazy! You’d never believe it! It kind of feels like being a preschool teacher. And feels the same too. Someone always wants your attention. All the time. Good grief. 

Somehow though, the general public has blurred the lines of what exactly is appropriate opinion sharing and what is not. Like they just automatically presume the whole world wants to know their opinions and judgment on everything. (The irony that I am also sharing my opinion in blog posts is not lost on me here…) And the people so freely sharing their opinions in comment sections say the craziest things. It feels like a giant game of truth or dare, all bluster, and bollocks. Nothing is true and no one is following through.

How is that helpful? I don’t really care if John. C adds his comment at the end of a “news” story online. Why is he even putting that out there? Who cares?

Apparently, a bunch of people, as we have all been sucked into some crazy thread of two strangers trading barbs in the comment section on the internet. It’s easy and mildly entertaining.

The anonymity online really has unleashed the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world. 

What do you think, are you bombarded by requests for your opinion on the daily? 

Are you excited to participate or do you just skip over it? 

Does it annoy you or you don’t mind? 

If you have a few seconds to spare, let me know your thoughts.