Recently, a lot of my friends latched onto the trend of taking surveys for payment online. While this seems like an easy way to make money, they fail to see some of the major red flags associated with this quick cash.

First of all, the pay out is terrible. Each survey takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to a half hour to complete and typically pays about 25 cents. That’s 50 cents to a dollar an hour! At that rate, honestly just give yourself some time to relax and read a book. It’s not worth it.

Another major issue is the security of these survey sites. There are some options that are verifiably secure; however, there are plenty of other sites out there that fail to have any kind of secure site mark of approval. Since the sites require no personal contact between the surveyed and the surveyors, it would be rather easy for the surveyors to swipe card numbers with little to no consequence. For the small pay they do give you, is it really worth it to get your identity stolen?

Lastly, it’s a sad reality that our generation is turning to things like online surveys while watching Netflix as a fast track to cash. Although it’s “easy” or “efficient” (which, as explored above, isn’t even true) to take surveys instead of going out and getting a job, we are losing the importance of hard work in our efforts to “get rich quick.” Rather than repeatedly taking surveys in hopes of making a little extra cash, why not take that babysitting job on a Friday night? Or, start that lawn mowing business that you’ve always wanted to try?

Our generation is in need of initiative; staying home and taking surveys to make money isn’t sufficient. With a real job, you’ll make money that’s more equitable for the time you put in, and you’ll learn skills necessary for future professional interactions. Plus, you won’t have to waste your free time doing petty surveys because the time you do have available can be dedicated to purely entertainment. Work hard, play hard. That’s the rhythm, right?