YouGov Daily Poll

[woodyfox]

Today's YouGov daily poll had two questions. One was 'How much do you enjoy watching model railways running'. 

Only around 50% responded negatively. Around 35% gave a thumbs up! 

 

Random and very positive really! 

They usually pose deeper questions about politics and current affairs. 

[The Johnster]

Not sure I'd say that's a positive reply, as 50% responeded negatively for some reason.  I would have thought that the largest section of the poll would have been indifferent, not interested, not an entire half actively negative towards watching model railways running!  35% responding definitely postively is not a bad result, about what I'd have expected, but the hobby seems to excite a disproportionate amount of antipathy, for no reason apparent to me!  I wouldn't expect a majority of the poll to be favourable to the the hobby, but it seems to be a bit like Marmite, with only 15% being ambivalent.

[westernviscount]

Forgive me, but I would suggest many of the respondents to these polls are thinking about their answer in terms of how they wish to be perceived. Status and the need to display personal greatness has never been more apparent and I am afraid an active interest in model railways does not fit the profile of your high flying, "lifestyle" person. 

[Steamport Southport]

You do realise that YouGov is a lobbying/market research group?

 

Never take one of their polls seriously as the people who participate in them are being paid to vote and you get more money the amount of polls you participate in. So I doubt many of the repliers are really that interested in replying honestly.

 

Dave Gorman summed up YouGov perfectly.

 

 

[melmerby]

15 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

You do realise that YouGov is a lobbying/market research group?

 

Never take one of their polls seriously as the people who participate in them are being paid to vote and you get more money the amount of polls you participate in. So I doubt many of the repliers are really that interested in replying honestly.

 

Dave Gorman summed up YouGov perfectly.

 

Big reveal

Opinion polls are carried out by market research companies and people get paid.

 

Well I never.😄

 

 

[AY Mod]

19 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Big reveal

Opinion polls are carried out by market research companies and people get paid.

 

Well I never.😄

 

 

 

YouGov don't necessarily send out to all, it depends what size sample is being paid for. They select the group they want responses from, for instance a very different response may be given from a younger range than an older one. Plus, was it a proportionate gender sample? Without knowing the selected group it's fairly meaningless.

[Steamport Southport]

1 hour ago, melmerby said:

Big reveal

Opinion polls are carried out by market research companies and people get paid.

 

Well I never.😄

 

 

 

But it's only asking people on their website. They aren't asking people in the street, phone canvassing or a cross section of society.

 

It's a bit like asking RMWEB members their favourite biscuit and using it to predict biscuit sales and tailor biscuit production for the next ten years because a few model railway enthusiasts like to dunk digestives in their tea and don't like OREOs.

[jjb1970]

On 14/06/2023 at 19:19, westernviscount said:

Forgive me, but I would suggest many of the respondents to these polls are thinking about their answer in terms of how they wish to be perceived. Status and the need to display personal greatness has never been more apparent and I am afraid an active interest in model railways does not fit the profile of your high flying, "lifestyle" person. 

 

That's a commonly held view in modelling circles but I am not sure it is true.

 

Over my working career I've met loads of model enthusiasts of all sorts (plastic kits, railways, radio control, model engineering, ships etc) and if they didn't advertise it by loudly announcing it when they met someone for the first time none of them tried to hide their interests and were more than happy to share their passion.

 

I work in an industry where models are a normal part of office furniture and very highly valued, I've never met anyone who had an issue with being openly admiring of the things.

 

I'm also struggling to remember meeting people who were dismissive of modelling as an interest, if anything most people I meet are supportive of people having hobbies and interests (whatever they might be). I've had jokes and leg pulling, but no different from leg pulling over people who like football or other sports, music and cinema, fashion sense or anything else and ultimately there has been an underlying respect for the interests of others.

Edited June 17, 2023 by jjb1970

[Darius43]

Cheers

 

Darius

[Mallard60022]

On 14/06/2023 at 12:19, westernviscount said:

Forgive me, but I would suggest many of the respondents to these polls are thinking about their answer in terms of how they wish to be perceived. Status and the need to display personal greatness has never been more apparent and I am afraid an active interest in model railways does not fit the profile of your high flying, "lifestyle" person. 

Almost...but think certain high profile people involved in model railways!

I totally agree though about this obsession with how one is perceived. Bloomin Selfy generation.

[TheQ]

If I'm at an art event SWMBO is exhibiting at, and I get asked what do I paint. I say" I paint in 3D and then animate it".

If they then ask how I do that, I produce pictures on this gadget..

 

today's latest in progress.

[KeithMacdonald]

Do you enjoy sports and pastimes?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Would you encourage others to have hobbies keep their minds active?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Would painting and modelling hobbies be suitable for people who prefer the indoors?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Should we have a variety of hobbies as we get older?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Would model railway modelling be suitable for some people?

 

 

 

Would you encourage people to have an active lifestyle?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Are you concerned that solitary living and staying indoors affects people?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Do you think that people who stay indoors and obsessively play fantasy games may have social issues?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Do you think that people who deliberately construct fantasy worlds may have mental health issues?

Yes [X] No [  ]

Should adults who build model railways be given therapy?

 

[wombatofludham]

I've never had a problem with people taking the rise out of my hobbies, but there again, when they try I give them a polite but firm rebuttal, highlighting the utter stupidity of spending thousands of pounds to sit in an unheated shed watching 22 multi-millionaires kick a bit of inflated plastic from one end of a lawn to the other, all whilst eating mechanically recovered meat products of dubious hygiene rating, and with the added frisson of the potential for physical violence from the other tribe.  I tend not to have much comeback after that.

As for people being obsessed with personal status, I suggest those who think this is a thing need to stop reading certain newspapers.  Taking a selfie isn't a sign of narcissistic compulsive behaviour, it's taking advantage of a technology that allows you to put yourself in the photo without having to set up a camera on a tripod, set a timer and run to put yourself in the photo before the shutter clicks, which is how it used to be done up until the smartphone.  People used to do that when I was a kid 50 years ago, so were they self obsessed status seekers, or just wanting a nice record of the fact they had been somewhere or were at a nice family gathering?  Same with people putting up YouTube videos, I've done front of camera videos for a friend in the past, just for a bit of fun, and some people genuinely have a talent for communication that the tech has enabled them to share.  Others are like listening to a rusty gate and about as entertaining.  I won't criticise people for having an ego, I will criticise content or factual errors but it isn't something to castigate everyone who does it as being narcissists.

Take no notice, be comfortable in what you do, and don't judge others because they enjoy doing something that you wouldn't want to, (unless it is illegal or immoral).  It's a hobby, not religious fundamentalism.

[Mark Saunders]

2 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

 

Should adults who build model railways be given therapy?

 

 

We should be given prescriptions for model shops!

 

[AY Mod]

15 minutes ago, Mark Saunders said:

We should be given prescriptions for model shops!

 

 

You have to argue the toss with the receptionist to see your GP (General Procurement approver) to issue a prescription from the National Modelling Service approved list containing bin ends and budget models and trot off to the pharmacist to find they're out of stock.

 

Or go private.

[Hroth]

 

The problem will be that the GP will have a practice budget, and will only be able to select from the "generics" list, and you'll end up with a Smokey Joe to be played with three times a day...

 

[Nearholmer]

Isn’t the poll just a bit of fun/click-bait on their website?

 

if you consider that most people’s mental vision of ‘model railway’ will be exactly the same as their mental vision of ‘toy train set’, so Thomas, Annie and Clarabel zooming round an oval of track on the carpet, I’m surprised that as few as half said they wouldn’t enjoy watching one. Id get bored myself after five or six hours.

[TheQ]

I get the reverse sort of comments about sailing, many think sailing is hugely expensive, and you get the "tearing up pound notes in a shower" comment.

But my sailing club membership for a family,  is half the cost of a single persons membership at the MRC. My average yearly spend sailing is  about the same as  the cheapest premier League season ticket at Brentford .

 

time I got ready and went sailing.

Edited June 18, 2023 by TheQ

[Steamport Southport]

3 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Isn’t the poll just a bit of fun/click-bait on their website?

 

if you consider that most people’s mental vision of ‘model railway’ will be exactly the same as their mental vision of ‘toy train set’, so Thomas, Annie and Clarabel zooming round an oval of track on the carpet, I’m surprised that as few as half said they wouldn’t enjoy watching one. Id get bored myself after five or six hours.

 

Usually paid for by someone and will probably find it's way into some kind of advertising (yes probably future clickbait). Often with the results slanted to portray what they want to say.

 

Like Labour voters don't like model railways very much (7%), yet you are twice as much likely to like them if you vote Liberal (15%) ! I don't even know what that says.

 

Proof is there if you look at the survey of 5452 random people who could be bothered taking part.....

 

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/survey-results/daily/2023/06/13/f37b2/2

 

 

Another one. 99% of people have heard of Golf (fair enough that 1% is well within the margin of error). Other activities enjoyed by those that like Golf? 

 

Candle making, puppetry and pole dancing! That's just three random things.

 

 

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/explore/activity/Golf?content=all

 

Don't take it seriously as a polling method. I seriously doubt that political canvassers will be lobbying outside model railway exhibitions based on the result of that survey.