SAY FOREVER! is an opportunity to declare your desire to live forever (or at least much longer) by participating in one of our activities. The basic activity is a street survey about the desire to live. By conducting surveys on the streets, collecting data and pictures of respondents, we create a collective portrait of people striving to live much longer.
Our end goal is to create a social demand for research of life-extending therapies.
This summer, we've decided to run Say Forever! events slightly differently. Each month, we will work with one hypothesis and ask questions to test its accuracy. This way, every month we'll gain different insights regarding people’s perspectives on life extension.
This June, we will try to figure out how optimistic people are regarding the speed of development of anti-aging therapies and their general outlook on the world. We’ll see how the level of optimism affects the number of years they would like to live.
👫 Invite a companion. Someone to join you in your survey campaign. To make you feel more confident, to take pictures, to have fun with! Please have fun 🙂 If you can’t find anyone, don't worry, it's still possible to carry out the campaign alone.
✍️ Prepare a notepad. Put the place and the date at the top of the page. Put columns for questions and answers (see the list of questions below). While you can use your phone to make notes, in our experience, paper is a better option: it’s easier to make notes, and you can also take authentic photos afterward.
Examples of stickers on a T-Shirt and a notepad
🏁 Let’s go! Start approaching people, explaining that you’re doing a survey. Talk to as many people as you feel comfortable with.
Approach a person and say:
<aside> 💬 Hello, I'm running a survey. Can I ask you a few questions?
</aside>
If the person declines, simply move on to someone else.
If you're running the event in a group, ask:
<aside> 💬 Thank you. Would you mind if my friend takes a few photos while we talk? It's for my report.
</aside>
If the person declines, please do not take photos.
Ask these questions one by one (don’t forget to put answers in your notepad):
<aside> ❓ Q1: Assuming scientists invented anti-aging therapy with no side effects, affordable to you and your loved ones, so you can stay young and healthy as long as you want, both physically and mentally, how long do you want to live?
</aside>
<aside> ❓ Q2: How likely do you think the invention of such an anti-aging therapy is within your lifespan?
Give the following options: Unlikely (~0%), Rather unlikely (The chance is there but small, <50%), Rather likely (>50%), Likely(~100%), I don’t know.
You can use U, RU, RL, L, or IDK to record answers in your notepad or phone. Having options somewhere written (both the words and numbers) might come handy—it might be easier for some people to grasp them visually.
</aside>
<aside> ❓ AGE: How old are you? (We’re asking this question for the context for Q2)
</aside>
<aside> ❓ Q3: How optimistic are you about the future? Will the world change for better or for worse within 30 years? And 100 years?
Use ↑ (better), ↓ (worse), or - (other) to record answers in your notepad or phone.
</aside>
<aside> ❓ GENDER: Ask about it or assume, depending on the country and situation.
</aside>
An example of how you might write down the survey results
**#sayforever** hashtag). Pictures are no less important than the survey itself!