Why You Should Never Do The Census
The census is a mandatory survey that is conducted by the government every 10 years in order to collect data about the population.
It’s used to determine, among other things, the number of people in a certain area, their age, race, and gender. The census is also used to collect information about the economy and housing.
While the census might sound harmless, there are a few reasons why you might want to opt out of doing it. Let’s explore some of them below.
5 reasons why you shouldn’t do the census
1. It’s Invasive
The census asks a lot of personal questions that you may not be comfortable answering. It asks about things like your housing situation, income, sexual orientation, and educational background.
All of this information is then stored in a database where it can be accessed by government officials. This means that your personal information is not as private as you might think.
2. It’s time-consuming
Filling out the census is going to take some time. The form is long and detailed, and it’s not going to be something that you can just do quickly.
What’s more, you might be fined if you give false information, so you’ll need to be extra careful, and take extra time, to ensure that you don’t make any mistakes.
3. It’s unsafe
If you fill out the census online, then your personal information is at risk of being hacked. The government website is not as secure as it should be, and there have been cases of people’s information being compromised.
Hackers constantly target census data storage systems in order to get their hands on sensitive information. If they get in, they could access your address, phone number, and Social Security number. This could lead to identity theft.
4. It’s pointless
Although the government makes it seem like the census is important, it’s actually not that useful, in the grand scheme of things. The data that is collected is often outdated by the time it’s used, and it doesn’t really help with anything.
Your life won’t be affected one way or the other if you fill out the census, so you might as well save yourself time and effort.
5. It’s a tool for governments to spy on citizens
This is perhaps one of the most concerning things about the census. The fact that the government is collecting all of this information about citizens makes it seem like they are planning to use it for nefarious purposes.
The government has a history of spying on its citizens, and the census gives them yet another way to do so. They could, in theory, use the information to target certain groups of people, or to track people’s movements.
Conclusion
The census, unfortunately, is mandatory, which means that you can’t really opt out of it, not without facing a fine. But that doesn’t mean that millions of people don’t try. In 2020, 97% of people completed the census, which means that 3% chose to forego it. That number is not insignificant.
It’s your call, at the end of the day. But if you’re someone who values their privacy, or who doesn’t want to be dictated to by a government that’s shown it’s untrustworthy time and again, then maybe you might want to skip the census the next time it comes around.