“Remember those Apple ads that cast the Mac as a 20-something, self-satisfied hipster while the PC was portrayed by an older, square-looking guy in a brown suit?” Brandon Griggs asks for CNN. “Well, those characterizations, unfair as they may be, appear to have some truth to them.”
“An unscientific survey by Hunch, a site that makes recommendations based on detailed user preferences, found that Mac users tend to be younger, more liberal, more fashion-conscious and more likely to live in cities than people who prefer PCs,” Griggs reports. “Of the 388,000 Hunch users who responded to a question about computer loyalty, 52% identified themselves as PC people as opposed to 25% who said they are Mac devotees. Hunch then cross-referenced those responses with answers to other questions to draw cultural distinctions between the rival Mac and PC camps.”
“The results suggest Mac users can be seen, depending on your perspective, as bolder and more creative — or elitist and more pretentious,” Griggs reports. “The report found that 67% of Mac users have a college or advanced degree, as opposed to 54% of PC users.”
Griggs reports, “Mac users also are more likely to describe themselves as computer-savvy and ‘early adopters.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A quick remembrance of the umpteen IT doofuses we worked around/outsmarted in our past lives — as you can likely imagine, wherever there was only Windows PC dreck, we left a trail of Macs and new Mac users in our wakes — confirms at least some portion of these findings to be true.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “DMac” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Are all Apple Mac users gay guys or women? – September 21, 2007
Study: Apple iPhone users richer, younger, more productive than other so-called ‘smartphone’ users – June 12, 2009
More evidence that Mac users are smarter than Windows users – July 16, 2004
Nielsen/NetRatings: Mac users tend to be better educated and make more money than Windows PC sufferers – July 12, 2002
I must agree with at least one paragraph here. When I was a PC, I actually did think that Mac users were elitist and more pretentious. Since I switched to Mac a year ago, I now realize that we really are simply bolder and more creative. 🙂
I’ve used Mac.s ever since Katrin Eisman showed me how to get started with Photoshop 2 in April 1992.
I actually am elitist and pretentious.
Someone has to be.
… he said pretentiously!!!!! :))
(just kidding)
Bolder and more creative, forward thinking and progressive. We have many exceptions to the rule here on MDN
“Mac users tend to be younger, more liberal, more fashion-conscious and more likely to live in cities”
Well, I am young. At least one of them is correct.
Except for the degrees, I strike out.
I’m 79, used to be liberal but finally learned not to be, used to live in cities but moved to a log cabin in the woods, and Dockers are the height of clothing style. (The log cabin is a beauty, though.) Started using Apples in1980 and work 7 days a week in the Mac software business.
No degrees or fashion clothes but I do think different and with a $320 face value sell of silver in 1980 started a roofing company ….
We employee about 15 roofers and have had 31 great years …..
Started with PC in 1988 or so and got frustrated around 1991 when I couldn’t network them …. Bought a couple Macs and had them networked in five minutes ….. Have never looked back …
No degrees, middle aged, live in a city, and most definitely elitist and pretentious.
I’m nothing if not self aware and honest.
I still think I’m young.
Rest is wrong for me though.
I’m older, fashion conscious, and live in a small city (though not too far from 15 million other humans). I haven’t purchased a PC in 25 years.
I am a 64 year old stick-in-the-mud, bald, have a paunch, drink budweiser, definitly conservative…. and dress like a homeless person. I own a Mac, an iPad, an iPhone and an AppleTV. Go figure.
Like me. Mac user since ’84. I do have vintage clothes, but from the first time around. I find that if you can get many conservatives to stop applying labels and think, they’re actually kind of (whispers) liberal.
Applying labels?! Good grief, that’s all that Liberal do!…
So says a (non-whispering, but shout from the mountain top) CONSERVATIVE, Libertarian, TEA Party, and now for the labeled part, un-American, Astro turph, Teabagger, Mob, Bitter Clinger, Holds on to Guns and Bibles, etc… (glad the Liberals are able to label me so aptly… NOT)…
Both sides are applying labels. In the modern days of media soundbites and Twitter, labels are compact and enable people to easily identify (or not) with the source.
I happen to believe that most people are a mix of conservative and liberal, some more to one side or the other. Relatively few people live and breathe the entire dogma of their professed political party. I hope that we are less polarized than many politicians and media outlets make us out to be.
You’ve labeled me on this board over and over again, kettle.
I would label you a, “funny, irreverent, talented, passionate, argumentative, literate, cynical in a humorous way, animal loving, highly intelligent, left of center romantic.”
And I’d label you a good friend.
Good thing you put “CONSERVATIVE” all in caps, since from most of your posts, I’d just put you as a Tea Party reactionary — with little relation to true conservatism.
You forgot to add Douche to your list. Have a bowl of STFU and realize partisans always denigrate the “other”. Neither/no political party/ideology has the market cornered on that one. Now flame me back and we can all end this feeling smugly satisfied.
I can’t stand all of these silly labels we pillory each other with.
For myself, I like to think about an issue independently, and come to my own conclusions.
Oh wait, that’s right – that’s the definition of ‘liberal’.
“Applying labels?! Good grief, that’s all that Liberal do!…”
I am sorry to jump in this lively friendly discussion with political stuff here – but I really have to laugh at this statement! I have long noted how conservatives repeatedly resort to the psychological action called “projection”
“Psychological projection, or “Freudian projection,” a defense mechanism in which one attributes to others one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts or emotions.” Or eles know as “the pot calling the kettle black” syndrome.
Your little statement above is a great example! Look how the right wingers are continually throwing around epithets. Obama has a Communist, Nazi, Socialist, sometimes all in the same breath. Was it O’Rielly who called Obama a racist? And then the conservative think tanks have spent close to a billion dollars trying to convince americans that “Liberal” is a dirty word. (Didn’t some talkshow host write a whole book on Liberal as a disease or something like that?)
So next time you listen to Palin, or Bachman or any of the radio folks, listen and see how much they use these various “dirty-words” to belittle and negate people they disagree with.
But don’t pay any attention to me – I am a charte member of the “effete corps of impudent snobs.”
You have to love liberals. They know what is best for all of us.
42, very libertarian, somewhat hip, married, one child, current apple products in use in my house:
15″ MacBook Pro, 27″ Apple LED, 13″ MacBook (black), 24″ iMac (white), AppleTV 2, 2 x iPhone 4, iPhone 3G, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express
And there are many Apple products no longer in use laying in a drawer somewhere.
I’m 46, conservative/libertarian, hate taxes, politically incorrect, drive a gas hog, harass hybrid drivers, and love Beck, Limbaugh, Malkin, Coulter, Savage, and Levin.
I have an iMac, 3 iPods, on my 3rd iPhone, and just bought an iPad 2. Now……about that user demographic bullshine……
Saleen, right there with you, 55, but you left out Hannity
You left out Sarah!
You’re both right. I forgot em both. My mistake.
Oh yeah……I also am a Tea Party member.
And they let you drive?
I have no problem with your dislike of taxes. But the government has to collect enough to pay for the services implemented by Congress.
When you have a massive deficit, cutting federal expenditures makes sense – we should have been doing that in 2001-2008. But cutting the tax rates or excluding certain types of income from taxation only makes sense if the growth in taxable revenue (attributable to the economic stimulus of the tax cut!) compensates for the reduction in the tax rate. Reducing tax revenue in the face of a long term structural deficit is Tax Cut and Spend insanity.
I am in favor of reducing government spending across the board – that includes the Defense budget, which is enormous and unsustainable. Cutting so-called discretionary spending is not sufficient. Once we agree on those cuts, then we need to agree on a taxation strategy that will fully finance that level of government services – balance the budget, pay as you go! Unfortunately, many professed conservatives seem to balk at that point. How can you “hate” taxes if they support the necessary functions of the United States of America? I do not perceive the current tax structure (or the one in place in the mid-1990s when our deficit was much smaller) being excessive.
I wonder if they hate the $100B a year in taxes that go to support the insanity in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Right on, kingmel and Zeke. It is remarkable how people who “hate taxes” expect roads to be paved, police and fire departments to respond, social security checks to come in the mail and incredibly stupid and expensive wars to be fought. Iraq and Afghanistan are the two biggest and most expensive mistakes in American history. The second-biggest mistake was the failure of Congress to impose a war tax to completely fund EVERY expense of those wars, including long-term care for thousands of messed-up soldiers. $3 trillion won’t cover it. How much public support would there be for wars funded in full with a 1040 Form line item?
Oh yeah — Mac user, 56, retired three years, generally liberal, household has eight major Apple products, from two G5s to a Mac Pro to iPhones and iPads. Also own a dump truck and a back hoe (but all guys do, doncha?) that are at least as cool as my Mac Book Air.
As a follow-up, if you are truly the person that you profess to be, then an affinity for a balanced budget, being politically incorrect, and owning several Mac gadgets are *all* we have in common.
So much stupidity scares me.
Living beings are supposed to evolve, to become smarter, better.
But I guess tea suckers are not only defying the evolution theory (which has been proven more than once) but evolution itself by keeping being stupid.
>drive a gas hog, harass hybrid drivers, love Beck, Limbaugh, Malkin, Coulter, Savage, and Levin.
No doubt.
In 6000 years of recorded human history man has not evolved. Have we learned more about the world we live in? Sure, but the things that motivated men and women in Ur, Babylon, etc. are the same things that motivate us today. We want a secure place to live. We want tomorrow to be better than today. We want our kids to be better than we are. Some accomplish these by hard work, others by theft. And, there have always been those who could not take care of themselves and were dependent on their fellow man.
>In 6000 years of recorded human history man has not >evolved.
Totally untrue in each and every way.
1. The human history is much old older than 6000 years, and we have “documents” that are older than 6000 years.
2. Humans HAVE evolved in the last 6000 years. There are discrete, subtle differences between a 6000 year old skeleton and a modern skeleton. And it’s not only the height that gets larger and larger. It’s true that many characteristics are still the same. But not all.
3. The basic needs like food, shelter, sleep and sex are the same, yes and will ALWAYS be the same (unless we become the Borg). But the variety of different life styles is much larger nowadays. The choices/options are much more diverse. No one needs to hunt their own food anymore. Society and whole nations are much more intertwined.Political systems have evolved, trading has evolved, economics has evolved, social systems habe been invented and evolved, ethics has evolved. The human race does make progress. Slowly but steadily.
It’s so easy to spout things when you don’t have to prove them yourself. The oldest written clay fragments are Sumerian, and go back as far as 2500 BCE (that’s about 4500 years, for those counting).
I’m not aware of any “conclusive” changes to the human skeleton that have any bearing on evolution. Changes are likely due to diet, geographic location and other factors. Asians born in America have a larger frame.
What are these “other” subtle changes that have evolved (remember, it can’t be random… it has to have an advantage)
Well I can. 😉
There are signs/graphic codes from the Neolithic Age who are older than 20000 years. (cave paintings) These codes have been reused over and over again, suggesting some sort of raw alphabet. (Ask the University of Victoria (Canada) for more).
Evolution can be rather random. Random is normal for changes. It’s selection that chooses what kind of change is of an advantage and what survives.
Regarding changes to the human skeleton : read for yourself. And as you have admitted yourself : there are changes. The reason is irrelevant to the statement : the human skeleton has changed. Yes it has. Period.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7000972
Click to access Gracilization.pdf
And it’s not only the skeleton. Even muscles and tendons are about to disappear. About 15% of the population do no longer have the musculus palmaris longus. And that percentage will rise in the coming generations. It’s a muscle that was used by out ape ancestors to have a better grip in the woods. We no longer need it. And that’s just a very obvious example.
Evolutions is always going on. It never stops.
Well at least you have the one redeeming quality of being a mac user 🙂
I’m middle aged and have a bit of everything. PCs (windows, Linux and BSD), Mac, AppleTV, modded game consoles (Wii, xbox360, ps2, xbox, old NES), android cellphone, had an iphone, arcade games (pacman baaby!), pinball machines and a hackintosh.
I personally think anyone who blindly sticks to one brand and cannot clearly evaluate the other offerings is a moron plain and simple. There is nothing progressive or forward thinking about people like that. They are idiots regardless of their platform choice.
I’ve never considered myself a PC or a Mac. I’d describe myself as someone who loves technology old and new in general. If it has a CPU and runs software, then by god I want it and I probably want to hack it !
I don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. I’m not fashion- or brand- conscious, and my politics, religious beliefs, and well… everything about me… are no one else’s business. I’m me and mine- conscious, because that’s all that matters.
I think this is all a bunch of BS. I used to be a PC , not because I wanted to be one .. just because the software i needed/liked used to only be available on PC. (ms flight simulator) is the greatest thing to ever come out of MS and I love it. Then 10 years ago I switched, and absolutely love the mac, and never ever would go back. I’m the same person before and now, now when I see someone chose pc over mac and its not about a specific software, I think they are stupid. thats all.
52% to 25% yet we are sheep? go figure!
I’m 75 next month. Never owned a PC. Current holdings: iPad, iPod, Mac Mini, MacBook, iPad. Early-adopter tendencies. Computer user since 1983.
Middle-aged SWM seeks like-minded Mac enthusiast.
Liberal, dogs OK, heterogeneous hardware.
This article is funny, what a bunch of middle-aged guys with too much time on our hands! haha
Well, I tend to be creative and elitist. I guess I like mixing it up.
Oh, how I miss those old ads! No need to bring
them back as Mac has proved their overwhelming
superiority against PC.
Um, not quite. Young, yes. Ish. Well-educated, very. But Conservative (somehow the liberal – sorry – “progressive” groupthink on university campuses failed to persuade me that history’s most consistent failure is a good socioeconomic theory).
I believe in smaller federal government, strong defense, less federal spending, less centralized government, more control to the states (more state taxes, even, if it’s for sound programs) and counties, helping those who truly need help, and Macintosh!
I’m 33 YO, Engaged, Fitness Professional and Internet Entrepreneur, Owned PCs until 2001, bought my 1st Mac then, never looked back! Since 2001 17 Machines have passed from my desk not counting the iGadgets…
Currently a proud owner of a 17″ MBP, a black MacBook, 2 iPhone 3GS in the house plus an iPhone 4 and soon to buy the awaited upgrade of the iMac and MacPro…
Mac VS PC never made sense to me except if you don’t have money and want to buy a 300$ junk. Mac made my life soooo much easier and have in mind I owned 14 PCs from 1996-2001 so it isn’t a matter of not using PC before, trust me I’ve used them and was never satisfied no matter how much I paid! Defrags, Viruses, Formats Grrrrr.
When I switched to the mac… Well suffice to say that I haven’t formatted any mac since my first one not even the “cheap” mac mini with the G4 on it. Never had one virus and never defraged. Just using ONYX once every 2 months and that’s it…
It isn’t a matter of Mac vs PC for me because
Well, I’m not sure about some of these findings … I’ve taught at dozens of Universities, Gov Agencies, and Corporations. Most of the Mac users I’ve seen were conservative.
First Apple was a ][, first Mac in 1985 via the PX in Germany. Mac ever since typing this on an iPhone. Apple shareholder since 20001 (100 shares for about $1,000- still kicking myself for not buying more.
Used to be drawn to the conservative/libertarian viewpoint (although today’s claimants are about much that is conservative or libertarian). Degreed & Licensed Professional. ID as a Progressive/Liberal and did NOT vote for or support Obama. I see him as a DLC-type Republican Light in the mold of Bill Clinton. The rantings by conservatives about Obama being a socialist make ROTFLMAO. Same with our very pro GOP “liberal” MSM.
You want to see real liberal media? Check out The Nation, Mother Jones, The Progressive, Truth Out. Try watching Grit TV, Democracy Now.
Anyhow, Macs have always been strong in the creative markets and artistic types tend to be more liberal in outlook.
I’m a scorpio and like long walks on the beach.
DWM44 ISO SWF
The problem is that any group that I am not in is elitist and pretentious, while every group that I am in is a reflection of my bold and creative outlook.
It’s much like flouncing. Nobody ever describes themselves as flouncing out, it is always other people who flounce, when I leave in a hurry, it’s a dramatic exit.
This is my favorite reply. Very funny!
44yo liberal gay urban planner originally educated in architecture. Mac user since ’87. Currently have in my trendy downtown loft a 27″ iMac, a 20″ iMac, an iPad 1, iPhone 3GS and Apple TV. My new Brooks Brothers sport coat is being custom made at this time.
According to the non-group-thinkers above, you hate America.
And so do I.
lol, true.
No worries, we were born this way.
Hey… It’s a free country… You can choose any birth path that you like.
ChrissyOne
Thank you … that is Fsck’n brilliant, green/blue screen composite, but brilliant none the less.
Skylark, don’t believe that is green screen. I know it looks like no-one is noticing but occasionally someone does look.
There are also a bunch of these videos, and sometimes people in the store join in.
I’ve been an Apple guy since the mid’80s (still have my Newton) and I’m a conservative. Apple makes sense, business wise, and has always been a great buy – quality wins in the end.. I use Mac’s at work and play and my kids all have Apple products.
After having the opportunity to travel around the country and see living examples of stereotypes in places like Boca Raton and Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, I have learned that stereotypes generally have a basis in reality. So while the young, liberal, city-dwelling Mac user certainly exists, there are plenty of counterexamples like me and the other commenters here.
I think stereotypes are perpetuated by the overabundance of media that so many people blindly follow and believe without question, and every stereotype becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy. The typical human is a socially-bound head of cattle, and regardless of what individualist traits that they might possess, they’re too cowardly to think too far outside of the fear-driven, mob mentality, everything-in-its-package life that everyone else lives. Hence, the need for labels, groups, and… stereotypes.
This Mac user is anything but liberal.
Weeell…
I’m 64, live in rural parts, and have been a user since… ummm… about 1986ish, and still have the SE30 in fine working order.
But of course, I’m a creative, a smart dresser, deeply cool, up to the minute with stuff, and in every other way aka the survey results.
Maaaaybe… 😉