The concept of being paid to do online surveys has been around for a while now but lately I've been bombarded by a relative who is trying to convince me that these things are a great way to earn extra cash. About an hour a day is all it takes with some sites paying anywhere between $5-$10 per survey.
I have never met anyone that enjoys filling in a form of any kind so completing surveys is not exactly something you do for the pure joy of putting ticks in little boxes. It's more of a 'if I take a bit of time to do something tedious I'll be rewarded' kind of thing. Which is not to say all surveys are dull and boring ...but the majority of online ones are (at least in my experience).
Some surveys will pay more based on whether you qualify...i.e. whether you're in the demographic. The results of these are some what questionable when you consider I know people who give false answers in order to qualify and earn the bigger dollars. Not that I care.
You see, the question that I ask myself is this; "Is filling in these surveys really a productive use of my time?"
Now answering a few questions for around an hour a day may not seem like such a big sacrifice - and it isn't - but when you add those hours up over a week, that's five hours (or seven if you include weekends). In that time I could've completed one artwork ready for selling at a price that would need about 4 weeks of surveys to come close to.
Perhaps you're thinking, 'well why don't you create art and do surveys then?' It's a fair point. One that I don't have a good answer to other than to say 'if banging your head against a brick wall would earn you dollars would you do it?'
Working mindlessly to earn money is just not my thing. I enjoy the challenge of making money from the things I create. My writing, my art, my videos... you get the idea. Whilst the money I make from these is not always direct (I earn money indirectly through advertising too) I do get a real sense of achievement knowing that it is my creativity that is earning my income.
For me it isn't just about the money. It's what you do to earn it that matters too. Whilst I don't earn a whole lot from my creativity I can at least be proud of the dollars that I do earn.
I have never met anyone that enjoys filling in a form of any kind so completing surveys is not exactly something you do for the pure joy of putting ticks in little boxes. It's more of a 'if I take a bit of time to do something tedious I'll be rewarded' kind of thing. Which is not to say all surveys are dull and boring ...but the majority of online ones are (at least in my experience).
Some surveys will pay more based on whether you qualify...i.e. whether you're in the demographic. The results of these are some what questionable when you consider I know people who give false answers in order to qualify and earn the bigger dollars. Not that I care.
You see, the question that I ask myself is this; "Is filling in these surveys really a productive use of my time?"
Now answering a few questions for around an hour a day may not seem like such a big sacrifice - and it isn't - but when you add those hours up over a week, that's five hours (or seven if you include weekends). In that time I could've completed one artwork ready for selling at a price that would need about 4 weeks of surveys to come close to.
Perhaps you're thinking, 'well why don't you create art and do surveys then?' It's a fair point. One that I don't have a good answer to other than to say 'if banging your head against a brick wall would earn you dollars would you do it?'
Working mindlessly to earn money is just not my thing. I enjoy the challenge of making money from the things I create. My writing, my art, my videos... you get the idea. Whilst the money I make from these is not always direct (I earn money indirectly through advertising too) I do get a real sense of achievement knowing that it is my creativity that is earning my income.
For me it isn't just about the money. It's what you do to earn it that matters too. Whilst I don't earn a whole lot from my creativity I can at least be proud of the dollars that I do earn.
I know of a really good survey site. would you like me to send it to you HAHAHAHAHA
ReplyDeleteLOL I gave it a try based on recommendations like your well-meaning relative's, I came to the same conclusion. the return is not worth the effort and the boerdom. much better to concentrate on furthering art careers! (there aren't enough hours in the day anyway!)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with you on that point Jennie. There just aren't enough hours in the day to be wasting one on surveys!
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