diff --git a/plugins/common/socket/datagram.go b/plugins/common/socket/datagram.go
index b7d55e38a4a99..0f84b7d66f9e2 100644
--- a/plugins/common/socket/datagram.go
+++ b/plugins/common/socket/datagram.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/alitto/pond"
 
@@ -51,6 +52,7 @@ func (l *packetListener) listenData(onData CallbackData, onError CallbackError)
 		buf := make([]byte, 64*1024) // 64kb - maximum size of IP packet
 		for {
 			n, src, err := l.conn.ReadFrom(buf)
+			receiveTime := time.Now()
 			if err != nil {
 				if !strings.HasSuffix(err.Error(), ": use of closed network connection") {
 					if onError != nil {
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ func (l *packetListener) listenData(onData CallbackData, onError CallbackError)
 					src = &net.UnixAddr{Name: l.path, Net: "unixgram"}
 				}
 
-				onData(src, body)
+				onData(src, body, receiveTime)
 			})
 		}
 	}()
diff --git a/plugins/common/socket/socket.go b/plugins/common/socket/socket.go
index 0a138415e5e06..ed5bc499cd15e 100644
--- a/plugins/common/socket/socket.go
+++ b/plugins/common/socket/socket.go
@@ -9,13 +9,14 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/config"
 	common_tls "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/common/tls"
 )
 
-type CallbackData func(net.Addr, []byte)
+type CallbackData func(net.Addr, []byte, time.Time)
 type CallbackConnection func(net.Addr, io.ReadCloser)
 type CallbackError func(error)
 
diff --git a/plugins/common/socket/socket_test.go b/plugins/common/socket/socket_test.go
index 5a2a6d7d2d8da..e979f8a3654cd 100644
--- a/plugins/common/socket/socket_test.go
+++ b/plugins/common/socket/socket_test.go
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ func TestListenData(t *testing.T) {
 			require.NoError(t, parser.Init())
 
 			var acc testutil.Accumulator
-			onData := func(remote net.Addr, data []byte) {
+			onData := func(remote net.Addr, data []byte, _ time.Time) {
 				m, err := parser.Parse(data)
 				require.NoError(t, err)
 				addr, _, err := net.SplitHostPort(remote.String())
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ func TestClosingConnections(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, parser.Init())
 
 	var acc testutil.Accumulator
-	onData := func(_ net.Addr, data []byte) {
+	onData := func(_ net.Addr, data []byte, _ time.Time) {
 		m, err := parser.Parse(data)
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		acc.AddMetrics(m)
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ func TestMaxConnections(t *testing.T) {
 	// Create callback
 	var errs []error
 	var mu sync.Mutex
-	onData := func(_ net.Addr, _ []byte) {}
+	onData := func(_ net.Addr, _ []byte, _ time.Time) {}
 	onError := func(err error) {
 		mu.Lock()
 		errs = append(errs, err)
diff --git a/plugins/common/socket/stream.go b/plugins/common/socket/stream.go
index 251666899fa65..ae41e1db72f62 100644
--- a/plugins/common/socket/stream.go
+++ b/plugins/common/socket/stream.go
@@ -352,6 +352,7 @@ func (l *streamListener) read(conn net.Conn, onData CallbackData) error {
 			break
 		}
 
+		receiveTime := time.Now()
 		src := conn.RemoteAddr()
 		if l.path != "" {
 			src = &net.UnixAddr{Name: l.path, Net: "unix"}
@@ -361,7 +362,7 @@ func (l *streamListener) read(conn net.Conn, onData CallbackData) error {
 		d := make([]byte, len(data))
 		copy(d, data)
 		l.parsePool.Submit(func() {
-			onData(src, d)
+			onData(src, d, receiveTime)
 		})
 	}
 
@@ -407,8 +408,9 @@ func (l *streamListener) readAll(conn net.Conn, onData CallbackData) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("read on %s failed: %w", src, err)
 	}
 
+	receiveTime := time.Now()
 	l.parsePool.Submit(func() {
-		onData(src, buf)
+		onData(src, buf, receiveTime)
 	})
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/socket_listener/socket_listener.go b/plugins/inputs/socket_listener/socket_listener.go
index b4783afc1af86..5f32af8062627 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/socket_listener/socket_listener.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/socket_listener/socket_listener.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	_ "embed"
 	"net"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/internal"
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ var once sync.Once
 
 type SocketListener struct {
 	ServiceAddress string          `toml:"service_address"`
+	TimeSource     string          `toml:"time_source"`
 	Log            telegraf.Logger `toml:"-"`
 	socket.Config
 	socket.SplitConfig
@@ -52,18 +54,27 @@ func (sl *SocketListener) SetParser(parser telegraf.Parser) {
 
 func (sl *SocketListener) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	// Create the callbacks for parsing the data and recording issues
-	onData := func(_ net.Addr, data []byte) {
+	onData := func(_ net.Addr, data []byte, receiveTime time.Time) {
 		metrics, err := sl.parser.Parse(data)
+
 		if err != nil {
 			acc.AddError(err)
 			return
 		}
+
 		if len(metrics) == 0 {
 			once.Do(func() {
 				sl.Log.Debug(internal.NoMetricsCreatedMsg)
 			})
 		}
+
 		for _, m := range metrics {
+			switch sl.TimeSource {
+			case "", "metric":
+			case "receive_time":
+				m.SetTime(receiveTime)
+			}
+
 			acc.AddMetric(m)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/syslog/syslog.go b/plugins/inputs/syslog/syslog.go
index 6f5517abc8fe0..4fe9f4e8ef3d9 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/syslog/syslog.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/syslog/syslog.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 	"unicode"
 
 	"github.com/leodido/go-syslog/v4"
@@ -214,7 +215,7 @@ func (s *Syslog) createDatagramDataHandler(acc telegraf.Accumulator) socket.Call
 	}
 
 	// Return the OnData function
-	return func(src net.Addr, data []byte) {
+	return func(src net.Addr, data []byte, _ time.Time) {
 		message, err := parser.Parse(data)
 		if err != nil {
 			acc.AddError(err)