Why I Can’t Take Surveys

I don’t take surveys. Not because I don’t want to help or that I’m uninterested - but because I understand the intent.

Surveys, in theory, are supposed to gather honest, unbiased feedback. But in practice? They’re often a game of subtle cues and loaded questions. I can see through them. I know what’s being asked, and more importantly, I know why it’s being asked.

When I read a survey question, I don’t just answer it - I analyze it. I think about what the question is trying to elicit, what the organization hopes to hear, how the data might be used, and how my response will contribute to a narrative. My mind doesn’t just respond; it reverse-engineers the intention behind the question.

And because of that, my answers are no longer neutral. They're no longer spontaneous or unfiltered. They’re shaped by awareness - an awareness that makes it impossible for me to respond without second-guessing everything. That bias, in turn, makes the results of any survey I take unreliable.

Surveys count on participants not overthinking. But I do. Every. Single. Time.

So I skip them. Not out of apathy - but out of respect for the integrity of the data. Because if I can’t answer honestly, maybe I shouldn’t answer at all.