I have a soft spot for those market research surveys you get invited to via e-mail. They seem like an acceptable form of procrastination. I find the questions interesting and I don’t mind the opportunity to share my opinion. One question which becomes more pertinent with each response though is the inevitable demographic box asking for my age.
The framing of the demographic questions is interesting in itself. The changes to the gender question, or rather the options offered for the gender question, tell us something about how society and its’ attitudes have changed over time. The options given for the age question are perhaps more interesting though. The cutoff points for each option are rarely as arbitrary as they seem. Do they go up in standard tens? 20-29, 30-39 and so on. Or do they go up from mid-decade to mid-decade. 30-34 and on. Then, if they choose one of those less obvious options, when is that switching point? Is is 31-35 or 36-40?
Those cutoff points matter because you find yourself going from box to box with unpredictable irregularity. Sometimes you’re still in your early thirties, then you’re in your late thirties. Other times you’re comfortably in the middle. Whether you’re ticking a different box or not though, time is ticking on.
Commonplace 