Short of actual physical assault there is little more obnoxious when idling along a public thoroughfare than being chugged. Now the assailants have further automated their pseudo-worthy diabolical guilt assaults with smart phones to more efficiently process your banking details, if not instantly shackle you into a direct debit agreement.
Twice during my walk into work this week I have seen chuggers sans clipboards and kitted out with innocuous blackberry-esque handsets. Some outcomes of the pervasion of ICTs are less welcome than others. I wonder if the use of a mobile technology as the data collection mechanism has any effect on attitudes towards giving? Is it off-putting or does having a relatively expensive technology (rather than a clipboard & pen) somewhat authenticate or render greater authority for the chugger? I have no answer, but it’d be interesting to find out (and whether it is a decision calculated on more than efficiency). Either way, such activities are ethically questionable and perhaps antithetical to the admirable aims of charitable organisations.
