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“Consumer research firm MyType conducted the study, in which opinions of 20,000 people were analyzed between March and May,” Van Buskirk reports. “The firm’s conclusion was that iPad owners tend to be wealthy, sophisticated, highly educated and disproportionately interested in business and finance, while they scored terribly in the areas of altruism and kindness. In other words, ‘selfish elites.’ ‘They are six times more likely to be “wealthy, well-educated, power-hungry, over-achieving, sophisticated, unkind and non-altruistic 30-50 year olds,’ MyType’s Tim Koelkebeck told Wired.com.”
“96 percent those most likely to criticize the iPad, on the other hand, don’t even own one, although as geeks, they were slightly more likely to do so than the average population — and far more likely to have an opinion about the device one way or the other,” Van Buskirk reports. “This group tends to be ‘self-directed young people who look down on conformity and are interested in videogames, computers, electronics, science and the internet,’ said Koelkebeck.”
Van Buskirk reports, “One might expect people with an interest in videogames, computers, electronics, science and the internet to be interested in a device that lets you play videogames, functions like a computer, is made of electronics, relies on science and connects to the internet, which suggests there would be a high convert rate if the ‘have nots’ just went to an Apple Store for the afternoon.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Does the iPad really cost that much? US$499 to start? Hardly seems like much a bar to set for “elite” status (sniff). And, for the record, we want to share our iPad love with everyone!*
*But, go buy your own, already; you can’t touch our revolutionary top-of-the-line 64GB iPad 3G’s with your smeary newbie greasy fingers. 
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dow C.” for the heads up.]
Great MDN final comment. Couldn’t agree more.
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I have an iPad and it is true— I also strive for getting to be the best I can.
And we don’t even have those damn things yet…
I want one now! Me me me me!
I bet they define Bill Gates as altruistic and using Windows Vistaseven as independent.
I think Apples challenge is going to be convincing people to be honest about what they use their computers for, especially their notebooks. People have been programmed to believe that a glut of features and apps make a computer more valuable when in reality the vast majority use the same 6 or 7 apps/features 99% of the time. I sold my Macbook and bought an iPad. I haven’t regretted the decision at all. There are many more like me!
Study: Experts prove that Wired is written by snotty self-important San Francisco jerks.
No one is touching mine either!
From my experience, once you have one it becomes My Precious, turning the user into a Selfish Elite.
Hard to pry our iPad out of my partner’s hands. But content myself with the iMac i7.
I thought they would be called “early adopters” or successful people with disposable income vs young minimum wage earning whiners Me thinks the survey = FUD.
The critical group must be a very small number.
If they’re geeks, they must be out of work geeks. Who would have the time to go out of their way to criticize a product with which they’re unfamiliar.
Wow, so my wife is a “selfish elite”? I’ll tell her that next time I see her using her iPad for its primary purpose: reading manga.
——RM
I noticed the author of the article took time to characterize people who are “wealthy, sophisticated, highly educated and disproportionately interested in business and finance” as “selfish elites”.
Wonder why they didn’t bother to characterize people who are “
self-directed young people who look down on conformity and are interested in videogames, computers, electronics, science and the internet” as “slackers”?
Damn snobby, elitist, analysts, newspaper no nothings. Can they just figure out that what they call know-it-alls are actually the people that actually know what the little device is about.
Just because a writer views some facts or data, it clearly means they all do not get it. The need to have a secure environment means you must have some control. Lock down some freedom to maintain a stable system.
If you can get a newspapers or the print media to break their conformity to the twisting of facts, emotional fluff, or become more honest upfront on their policitial objectives. That would make them the bloggers, Internet reporters, and the average Joe reporting the fact the media omitted- yet they are the same ones they seek government protection, belittle, or elevate their kind above all. Just because they have a degree, a job in the media, and the fact they are the elite of truth and perception. Yet, they can get little right!
MDN has busted so many on facts, omissions, and just flat-out wrong.
So who do they call elitist? People who they think run business! They never look at themselves-never.
I Feel Better Now and they smell no the bit less foul to me!
>Dues Ex
Exactly!
There is some validity to this report.
I would argue that $500 is a great deal of money to so called “geeks.” These are people who probably struggle with spending $500 while building the fastest, fire breathing Windows based PC they can, so they can frag the other guy in their mom’s basements.
Sure they’re interested in the Internet, but only so far as the next lame self mutilation (no pun intended) viral or “2 girls one cup” video is concerned. After all, they need good conversation topics while working their jobs at the local fast food chain. These are often relatively intelligent people, not spectacularly so, but they can be taught and are able to mimic their teachers, much like chimpanzees. I can see these people criticizing the iPad. The power to increase the dissemination of information probably doesn’t register as “sick.”
The iPad, while a game changing device and a harbinger of things to come, is currently not a necessity for most people, especially people who already have a computer. Consequently I submit there is a third group. There are those people who are curious about where this device is going to take us. These are future minded people who see possibilities. These are people who are willing to spend $500 on the device and sit down with it and ask themselves, “What can I do with this? What can I do with it to make the world a bit better?” Call that selfish if you like, I for one hope there are lots of those selfish people around, looking to build upon the ideas of others, and share their creativity. Call me elitist if you like, but I prefer the company of such people to the company of chimps, sitting in the dark, screaming NOOB at a screen, and forgetting to wash their hands after surfing one of the free porn sites.
Truth be told, I fall somewhere between the two groups.
I own an iPad. Thanks for the compliment and yes I’m interested in Business and Finance. As for selfish? No.
“This group tends to be ‘self-directed young people who look down on conformity and are interested in videogames, computers, electronics, science and the internet,’ said Koelkebeck.”
I know several of these types of folks and I love it when they start complaining and trying to define my group as elites or selfish.
My favorite comback is to ask them how much money or time they donated or volunteered last year to anything. They never do, they just bitch and give stupid excuses why they didn’t or don’t.
My group, what they call “selfish elites”, tends to donate to families in need, schools, leagues and things that make society a little better. They help in shelters, food lines and their local PTA. I spend countless hours coaching youth programs, volunteering in my local community, and school functions and supporting other peoples kids in school activities, sports and special interests.
What does their group contribute to society? Not sure but they tend to “CONSUME” everything and produce nothing.
If they want to call me a selfish elites, fine I’ll take that as a completment but I doubt what I do or own defines me as a person.
If it does, then I would classify the other group as “bums”.
@ Skabeetle – 12:51
“I think Apples challenge is going to be convincing people to be honest about what they use their computers for […] I sold my MacBook and bought an iPad.”
That’s exactly what I think and what I did. I keep using my iMac, of course.
Something is pretty surrealistically wrong and disturbing when “wealthy, sophisticated, highly educated and disproportionately interested in business and finance” is portrayed as a negative social stigma.
My iPad 64Gb 3G is a work of art and is fantastic. Excuse me please, while I go run down some puppies with my Porsche. God it’s great being me!
Considering most ‘independent geeks’ use pcs’ I rather think the term is an oxymoron.
Dead-on.
I’m an elite prick.
I love my iPad.
The survey is from “opinions of 20,000 people were analyzed between March and May”.
That was 2 months ago, and the iPad wasn’t released until April 3rd. So, this survey includes 1 opinions one month prior to the release and 2 months following the release. What a skewed ridiculous survey!
Of course the first 2 months of sales for a brand new device is going to be the normal early adopter group. (Well educated, disposable income, etc…)
I can tell you as of this summer, more and more “average” people are getting iPads. I see more people using iPads every day. It’s growing crazy fast.
I wonder where those geeks are today? They should be here with their anti Apple crap. Hey I got it. Isn’t today the day the Dell Streak is on sale? I bet they are all in lines waiting to get theirs. BTW where is the news about the Streak? Not on Cnet yet. What a name, worse than iPad I think.
It never ceases to amaze me how many dumb, hateful, clueless, morons are out there- getting press and Pay to exist?!
As my brother recently wondered- is the world getting worse or are we just noticing more?
This is one reason we need sites like MDN as an antidote and reality check for those of us who get and appreciate the beauty and innovation of Apple products. And why extraneous non-sequiters such as politics, politicians, and flame wars not only detract from MDN’s value but send one scrambling for sanity elsewhere. I want- need-want a new iPad, iPhone, Macbook Pro… but my car is also dying! (So’s my wife’s..)
Let’s see.. how am I gonna work this?…..
dont know much bout any elites, but this here eyepad
that i done traded for a jug o my best moonshine, it does the trick all rite. use it in the outhouse some. lordy, my ole lady be larning french on the thing, an bubba two shacks over poontang hill, he gots truck repair work now on account of it.
maybe the thing, it turns folk like us into elites.