Steve Mossop of public research firm Insights West has an article on The Tyee that highlights 13 B.C.-related topics for 2013.
A Pollster’s Top 13 Insights From 2013
Here are my insights (it’s insights all the way down!) on a few from the list:
12. We have become less polite as a society.
Three-in-five British Columbians believe that we have lost our sense of civility, and practically nine-in-ten saw someone swear in public. Most residents blame apathetic parents and cold technology for the rise in unruly behavior.
I don’t know how much apathetic parents are to blame (maybe a little) but technology–in the form of the smartphone–is certainly a culprit. I see many people on transit, on the sidewalk, at school, everywhere, who are more interested in staring into that 4-5 inch screen in front of their face than in anything around them. I like smartphones. They’re useful tools and they’ve opened up the world to things that weren’t possible before. But you do not need to check your Facebook page on an ongoing basis.
Also, I’m pretty sure four-in-five British Columbians would say we’ve lost our sense of civility if they had exclusively polled transit riders. Having used transit since arriving in Vancouver in 1986, I can say unreservedly that people are for more impatient and rude on transit than ever before. From people standing in front of the doors on the SkyTrain platform (blocking the exit for people trying to leave the train) to the mad dash (an actual dash!) to get a seat, people have largely abandoned any attempt to be polite. boo to them, I say.
5. As a society, we believe in some pretty outrageous things.
April Fool’s Day and Halloween provided two opportunities to assess the beliefs of British Columbians. Most claim they believe that UFOs exist, almost half think ghosts and haunted places are real, but just one-in-20 believe Elvis Presley is alive.
I don’t consider believing in UFOs to be outrageous. A UFO is an unidentified flying object and plenty are seen every year. Pedantic? Perhaps, but this framing feels like more of the media’s attempt to marginalize anything it doesn’t deem serious or worthy of study. It is reassuring that only 5% believe Elvis is still alive, however. Actually, no, it’s not. You 5% are dumb. Cut it out!
1. Christy Clark won because voters changed their minds at the last minute.
Since the B.C. provincial election in May, there has been a lot of speculation and introspection about the state of public opinion polling. Our survey conducted immediately after the election found that one-in-five voters settled on a candidate on the last 72 hours of the campaign, and that 17 per cent of actual BC Liberal voters had window-shopped as NDP supporters.
Making up your mind on who to vote for at the last minute is not a good way to vote. It is, in fact, dumb. Stop being dumb, British Columbians. Think logically, rationally and carefully before casting your vote. Don’t be swayed by soundbites or clever ads because that is all BS where politicians (of every affiliation) say anything and promise everything. Do you pride yourself on being persuaded by BS? I suspect not. So think before voting and do so before the election, throughout the election and not just at the last minute because one side or other ran a slick ad. Thanks!