# What About A Caller-ID Gap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 1, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097 "2010-11-01T16:15:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/1 "2010-11-01T16:15:40Z")
There has been a lot of talk this election about the problems cell phone-only households cause pollsters and potential effects on polling results. Couldn’t a similar argument be made in that households that have both a cell phone and a landline, that the landline is likely to have caller ID? I have both a cell phone and a landline with caller ID, and what it means is that unless I know who is calling, I won’t answer. Heck, I’ve even programmed in certain numbers (my family, for instance) to have a different ring than numbers that aren’t in my address book, so I may not even get up and go look at the phone. So while I am most definitely reachable for polling, unless the pollster identifies itself on the caller ID I won’t pick up. Any chance that there is an effect that could further confound polling accuracy? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/2 "2010-11-01T16:42:01Z")
Um… your cell phone has called ID too, doesn’t it? Oh, wait, I see what you’re saying: land lines don’t, necessarily, so those people are more likely to answer. I’m not sure what your point is, though; people who only have cell phones are still going to be drastically under-sampled. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/3 "2010-11-01T16:50:08Z")
Well younger people are more likely to have caller ID, due to the expense, and also more likely to screen their calls. Many of those over 60 or so have a hard time not answering a ringing phone. Beyond this, it seems to me that older people have more trouble telling a pollster to fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/4 "2010-11-01T16:52:52Z")
I’m positing two types of undersampling. Those with only cell phones are one. Those with landlines but caller ID and get 10x “unknown name/number” calls for every real call per week could be another. I guess what I’m asking is could the polling be further biased by those who are reachable but don’t pick up because the reason they got caller ID in the first place is because they’re sick of robocalls and telemarketers and the like. What if all you get is old people who spend all day at home watching TV and picking the phone up because they’re too cheap to spring for caller ID? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/5 "2010-11-01T16:55:18Z")
…a center right country, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/6 "2010-11-01T18:43:41Z")
I wonder at what general age the mindset of _look at the number before picking up_ kicks in. I’m 40, and it’s thoroughly embedded. I guess you could organize a phone survey and ask … and ask … wait. Call, then Sir Lancelot, Galahad, and the pollster wait until nightfall and then leap out of the phone, taking the pollee by surprise - not only by surprise, but totally unarmed! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/7 "2010-11-02T12:00:36Z")
Privacy Manager is another hurdle these days, but it’s a hurdle only if you do something silly like not assign your/a name to the account. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-a-caller-id-gap/559097/8 "2010-11-03T03:41:44Z")
For the record, I have a landline and a cell phone. Neither have caller ID. My cell will tell me the number of an incoming call, but only tells me a name if that number is in my list.