How surveys snoop on people’s locations Recently updated !
The “Religion for Breakfast” YouTube channel reported on a survey to determine how often people go to church, eliminating the need for self-reporting and the biases that go with it. The video focused on the numbers obtained, but the way the survey was conducted is disturbing and offers a warning about how much information phone applications collect and pass on to third parties.
According to the video, Dr. Devin Pope of the University of Chicago conducted this survey, obtaining information from people without their knowledge or consent. “Dr. Pope analyzed the movement patterns of 2.1 million Americans, tracking visits to religious buildings on their main day of worship. Think of it like instead of asking someone how often they go to the gym, you just check their gym’s key card records. But let’s pause because I know what you’re all thinking. How can he even know how often people go to a place of worship? Isn’t tracking cell phone data kind of — creepy?” (Yes, it is.)
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