Sometimes, customers should take survey results and all positive reviews with a grain of salt. While vendors can buy fake reviews to pride themselves on online stores, some surveys may be inaccurate because of a limited number of respondents or if the people who reply come from a specific demographic.
In this case, this is a survey that was requested by Spin, a micromobility company that the Ford Motor Company owns. The company operates e-bike and e-scooter app-based rentals in the U.S. and several European cities and campuses.
Spin prides itself for implementing the first-ever station-less bike-sharing program in the U.S., and that system got to be used across the world by various other companies.
Now, back to the survey, its respondents are 996 Spin riders from seven towns in the United Kingdom. The data was collected in August 2021, but the fact that makes us ask for a grain of salt with this survey is that all respondents were customers of the same e-scooter rental company.
That means that there is a good chance that those customers were happy with e-scooters in general, and that was the second thing they had in common along with their city of residence.
Because of these two factors, in the form of a small and narrow survey respondent pool and the fact that all the people interviewed are customers of a specific company, the premises for a less than accurate result is there.
You may now know this, but today, October 10, is World Mental Health Day. Therefore, the survey we are referring to has analyzed the mental health benefits of riding an e-scooter. While I admit I have never imagined riding an e-scooter would bring benefits to mental health, 74 percent of riders declared that they felt de-stressed after using one.
Moreover, 85 percent of riders have felt relaxed after their rides, while 67 percent claim that riding an e-scooter helps clear their mind of negative thoughts and feelings.
As you may have read in the first paragraph, 87 percent of riders described feeling an increased sense of freedom. Now, this is something that I can relate to. While I am not a huge fan of riding e-scooters (rented or otherwise), I have experienced similar feelings and sensations after riding a motorcycle.
The feeling of freedom is definitely there, and anyone who has ridden a motorcycle must have felt it at least once. While in 2021 it may also come from the digital detox that can happen since you cannot look at your smartphone, as 63 percent of respondents told interviewers, but the feeling of freedom on two wheels is older than a smartphone and even computers.
Another interesting aspect revealed by the study was that 70 percent of respondents believed that riding an e-scooter that was rented via a hire scheme helped improve their mental health.
Well, we are not therapists here and we cannot comment on the matter, but if that is what makes you happy, or simply gets you in a better mood, go for it as long as you do not interfere with someone else's freedom.
According to the survey, four in ten riders explained that they felt joyful, free, or positive during or after their rides. In addition, almost half declared that they felt adventurous about renting an e-scooter.
Other riders told interviewers that they felt "exhilarated and like a soaring eagle," which may be a bit too much in our view, or just "back to my childhood."
If you allow it, the same goes for riding a bicycle, a skateboard, or rollerblading, if you ask us. So, with that in mind, go out and enjoy some fresh air and sunlight outside, as mental health is as important as health in general.
If you do ride an e-scooter, be safe and keep the speed within real limits of your skill, as reaching the emergency room has no beneficial effect on mental health.