Young, Middle Aged or Older?

[KarenL]

Hey guys,

I am very new to this survey stuff but I see alot of DQ's for me. I think it may be because of my age although I see others state the same. It may just be that old people's opinions really don't count... If that is the case I probably won't keep trying this for too long. I will give it a couple months to see what happens.

So, I am asking people how old they are and if they feel that affects the number of DQ's they get. (Sorry, I cannot pay you for this survey... )

Age:

Young = 18 - 30

Middle Aged = 31 - 55

Older = 56+

I guess I'm trying to get a sense of what I can expect although I am very aware that this is all arbitrary.

Thanks

[NFriday]

Hi- Most survey companies do not like to have a lot of people over the age of 50 doing their surveys. 25 year olds are a lot more likely to blow money on something, whereas a 55 year old is more like to pass on something. It is the same on television. Most advertisers would rather run ads on shows that have a large viewership of people in the 19-49 year old age group. Shows like Dancing with the Stars have lots of viewers, but they tend to be older, and so they don't want to advertise on those types of shows. That is why they cut Dancing with the Stars to one day a week most weeks instead of two.. There are occasional panels that are looking for older people though. I participated in a communispace AARP panel, where you had to be 50 or older to participate for over a year, and I got at least a $10 Amazon GC every month, for not a lot of work. I have not signed up with them, but somebody here says that Tellwut is good for older people. I probably made at least $600 in 2015, with most of that being Amazon GC, but I only belong to about 10 survey companies, and some such as Mindfield, I make $25 a year if I am lucky, and Inbox Dollars and myview I do okay on. Not great but ok. I also finally got into Pinecone, and they pay $3 per survey, and payment is fast. There just aren't a lot of surveys they send out. I got two surveys from them this week. I am still waiting for a product test from them. They keep telling me that there is a possibility that I will receive one, but I am still waiting. I am also signed up with Northwestern University's Kellogg school of Management, and I get surveys from them that usually don't take a long time, and you never get turned down unless the survey is full. They only do drawings for Amazon GC though. You usually either have a 1 in 25 or a 1 in 50 chance of winning one. I won a $50 GC about six months ago. At least with them your chances of winning sooner or later are good. You can only win twice a year with their site, and surveys fill up fast. Hope this helps

[JD]

Older. BUT in some cases they pass on buying because they already own a lot of stuff, their kids are grown, etc. However, some have more assets and travel more, come down with more illinesses, take more medication, etc. I do fairly well on surveys but I'm into electronic gear, etc. So, it depends on what demographic they are looking for.

[neminem]

I don't think 31 would be considered "middle aged" by any reasonable definition... I certainly don't feel like I've noticed a difference between being 30 and being 31 - other than it's a lot easier to type the latter with one hand.

[JD]

I don't think 31 would be considered "middle aged" by any reasonable definition... I certainly don't feel like I've noticed a difference between being 30 and being 31 - other than it's a lot easier to type the latter with one hand.

Didn't notice that but IF the average life span is 78 years then no way is 31 middle aged. Maybe 45 or 40. Wish I could be 31 again.

[NFriday]

Older people can often get into drug studies. I have done some studies for high cholesterol, and I am considering trying get in another one in a few months if I am deemed eligible. I tried to get in one a few months ago, but they told me that I was not taking enough lipitor to qualify. I was just advised to double my dosage of lipitor, and so once I do that for several months, I will be eligible for this study. Most drug studies only pay you around $50 per visit, and so you might only make $250 for the study total.

Yes older people do sometimes have more disposable income, but how many people that have lots of money to travel, are willing to do surveys that pay below minimum wage? Most of the older people that do surveys do it because they need the money, and not just because they enjoy doing surveys. I have gotten a few surveys from Mindfield that ask me what my income is, and the lowest category is $100,000 a year. How many people that make $100,000 a year are going to do surveys that pay next to nothing. I saw a survey last week that was looking for doctors, and they were going to pay $6o for a 15 minute on line survey

[episemion]

I'm in the Older category (turn 60 later this month) , but still seem to get a reasonable number of surveys. I haven't really seen an increase in the number I DQ from. When I do get DQed from them , it seems more likely that it was because of my income (on SSD) or that I do not have or use the topic of the survey (such as cell phones or booze). Been with most of the companies I deal with for well over 10 years.

[NFriday]

Hi- I have found that my age is the number 1 reason I get DQ'D, with lower income being the second most common reason. I also get eliminated though because I do not have a pet, or a 401K, and I am not planning on purchasing a car in the near further and I don't work in the IT field. Does anybody here work in the IT field, and does that help you get more surveys?

[footfree]

Hey I'm 52 have a 15 year old kid with 3 dogs so I think that that helps.And by no means is 31 middle age.I think 40 on up is.

[neminem]

I work in the IT field

Does anybody here work in the IT field, and does that help you get more surveys?

I work in the IT field, if software development is included in IT, which it's never entirely clear whether it is or not. I have definitely gotten a few IT-related surveys that I qualified for (though I've also been sent a lot of actually-IT surveys that I totally didn't qualify for, because IT and software development are often lumped together, but aren't actually the same thing, so then it asks "have you ever deployed [some specific technology]", which, no, that's not my job. But I have gotten a few. (Then again, probably about as many as I've been DQ'd for, on surveys that ask if my job is in one of these specific fields, and software is on the list.)

I definitely know what you're talking about with regards to not planning on purchasing any cars in the near future. I get so many of those. I really wish I could just blanket state, "I am not planning on buying a car in the near future", and make every site stop sending me car-buying surveys. >.> (Actually the same goes for any other large purchase - appliances, computers, etc.)

[footfree]

I work in the IT field

Does anybody here work in the IT field' date=' and does that help you get more surveys?[/quote']

I work in the IT field, if software development is included in IT, which it's never entirely clear whether it is or not. I have definitely gotten a few IT-related surveys that I qualified for (though I've also been sent a lot of actually-IT surveys that I totally didn't qualify for, because IT and software development are often lumped together, but aren't actually the same thing, so then it asks "have you ever deployed [some specific technology]", which, no, that's not my job. But I have gotten a few. (Then again, probably about as many as I've been DQ'd for, on surveys that ask if my job is in one of these specific fields, and software is on the list.)

I definitely know what you're talking about with regards to not planning on purchasing any cars in the near future. I get so many of those. I really wish I could just blanket state, "I am not planning on buying a car in the near future", and make every site stop sending me car-buying surveys. >.> (Actually the same goes for any other large purchase - appliances, computers, etc.)

Or how about the one they send that ask what tools you have bought in the last so and so months.I use to get those from Ipsos(I think) now Harris Poll sends them out.

[rosiesmom]

I get knocked out of surveys because I am 58, but when I mentioned I have a 17 year old child, then they want HER to do the surveys. She got DQ'd for the 100th time and she told me she isn't interested in the surveys anymore. Even at her age, she sees that her time is worth something.

[KarenL]

Thanks for all the responses. I am 62, not working and on a fixed income so I can understand why they would not want my opinion about some products. But I still do purchase stuff and I influence younger people who purchase stuff.

I didn't mean to offend anyone by posting that 31 would be middle aged. I was actually just trying to come up with 3 age categories and couldn't think how to do it. It should have been labeled "College/school getting ready to work age, working your butt off age and no more working age."

But, you have all helped me understand a little better what I should expect.

I just finished a Legalize Marijuana study which I was more than happy to fill out...

[rosiesmom]

I don't think of myself as old, but the survey companies do.

[jberri12]

Here are the standard age brackets or bands market research companies use (I pulled it off of one of their sites):

12 – 17

18 – 24

25 – 34

35 – 44

45 – 54

55 – 64

65+

Sometimes they are lumped into larger categories that fit broader definitions like those being discussed here (youth/teen, young adult, middle age, older adult/retired)

12-17

18-34

35-54

55+

I've also seen variations of these bands in surveys, so it's not set in concrete. For me, I'm 53 with a 14 yo teen and in IT, so I still get a variety of surveys. My son used to do them as well, but like rosiesmom, he realized they are not worth his time. I will continue to do them until I either see a significant drop in qualifications or I simply burn-out.