∞ Non-iPad owners are poor, not educated, meek, underachieving

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In a perfect example of how numbers and surveys can be manipulated to be anything the author wants them to be, a survey was posted recently by MyType that labeled iPad owners as a less than favorable group of people.

MyType, who conducted its survey on Facebook, said iPad owners were “wealthy, highly educated and sophisticated. They value power and achievement much more than others. They’re also selfish, scoring low on measures of kindness and altruism.”

So, using that logic, why didn’t they report that non-iPad owners are poor, not educated, meek, underachieving, crude, kind and altruistic?

Mainly, I think, because it’s not true. But, their portrayal of iPad owners isn’t true either.

This type of portrayal isn’t new to Apple or its users. Surveys for years have labeled Mac users, and then iPod and iPhone users in much the same light. Those surveys weren’t right either.

John Grohol, founder of the Psych Central psychology website, said MyType didn’t “know the first thing about reporting statistics, or basic methodology in its own research. They tried to summarize a bunch of disparate traits into catchy marketing phrases to make news headlines – phrases that were neither particularly accurate nor particularly scientifically valid.”

That seems to sum it up.


  • Clint

    The title might more correctly read “iPad non-owners”. Non-iPad owners implies that you are speaking of “owners” that do no own iPads.

    Best,
    Clint

    • Vamsmack

      Jim just proved the study wrong ;)

  • Scott

    I love it. I emailed this to several people at work today!

    • Jim Dalrymple

      LOL, glad to help Scott :)

  • WooDz

    We I’m sorry but my thoughts at present is that many who have bought the iPad have done so in order to show off. Same goes for the iPhone 4. I know of poeple who have got a new contract out for the new iPhone even thought they still have a 3GS on contract. The amount of people who have wanted to touch and hold my iphone 4 is quite bewildering. I know of relatives who have brought their MACBOOK’s to a birthday party, only to slap it on the table after they bring it up in conversation.

    Sadly I feel that there a vast amount of people buying Apple products because it’s the item to behold, a bit like the latest fashion accessory. Good for Apple I guess but only highlights a demographic highly acceptable to marketing ploys and latest fads.

    • Vamsmack

      I totally bought my iPad because I am a trend setting, jet setting playboy man of mystery and this was the next big thing. It wasn’t because I had a need for this product in my life at all. It couldn’t have been that I had read reviews and heard what others opinions were on the iPad and decided I could use one. It had to be that Apple just released something and I threw money at them until they gave me something shiny.

      Since when is it a crime or even a bad thing to appreciate well designed products? Isn’t that a good thing? I would put it forward if this wasn’t the general reaction from people then we have become a jaded race or Apple have failed at the design stage. Sure lording the new toy around like a child is a bad thing but there isn’t anything wrong with buying it because you want it.

      I think you mean “…SUSCEPTIBLE to marketing ploys…”. I would also disagree with you there. Vast amounts of people are buying Apple products for quality because they’re tired of the crap which is pumped out and they actually would rather pay for quality. Sure some will just buy anything with an Apple stamped on it but those people are in the minority not the majority which you suggest.

    • Arparp

      I bought an iPad because I want to read more and not have a pile of magazines on my floor if I don’t get to them. It doesn’t leave my house, I don’t brag to anyone that I have it. My friends bought iPads to read things, as a way of interacting with social media and finding new articles. They are all highly intelligent progressives and are not particularly subject to fashion or mainstream social influence.

      As with mine, your anecdotal experience is of little consequence when attempting to address the buyers as a whole. People are horrible at instinctive evaluations of every day statistics, and it is inevitable that your experiences will only capture a certain portion of the cultural and ethnic spectrum. This is why people make surveys and other statistical analyses through disciplined methods.

      In the case of MyType, their methods for drawing conclusions are questionable, even if their methodology is accepted. They failed to recognize that their data states that iPad owners are more likely to be moderate to progressive liberals, and *not* conservatives.

      How is MyType able to categorize people who are more willing to pay a large portion (much larger than average, since their income is so high) of their salaries for the public good as being non-altruistic?

    • WooDz

      There’s no real need for anyone on this site to defend their purchases.
      It’s easy to see that readers here are genuinely interested in the product and are looking for news and information you just won’t get from Apple.

      My comments are based on my personal observations and experiences.
      Whether the ipad is a well designed product, can only be determined by the user. Personally the iPad lacks some fundamental interfaces that would really make it a hard product to beat, which I’m sure by the 4th Generation Apple will have added. In a sense just the same when Apple launched their ‘be all end all’ mobile phone but held back on video, or the ipod touch with no Bluetooth connectivity.

      I wonder what little gems Apple have held back on with the iphone 4 but as it is, it does everything I expect it to do, except to be able to make telephone calls.

      • David

        Well, what does it say about one that has a phone that doesn’t make phone calls? If it were I or anyone I know, we would have taken it back. I’ve had my iPhone 4 since day one and have been mobbed. Perhaps I should flash it around more?

        Clearly, the IPad lacks features that are important *to you*. For many others, millions apparently, the iPad strikes an excellent balance. Apple smartest move was to ignore the committees, the people who have failed to design successful tablets and the techno-dilettantes who believe that they have all the answers despite having no real engineering, hardware or software experience.

  • Brad

    To say it up front, I fully agree with the point being made, Jim, and don’t want to suggest otherwise.

    I merely want to point out that the logic you use is incorrect. “If A then B” does not imply “If not A then not B”. Just because the people owning iPads may be rich, educated, egoists (and I agree that the study is wrong in this, but that’s not my point), that doesn’t mean that non-owners are the opposite. Otherwise, saying that, “vanilla ice cream is white” could be “disproved” in your fashion by saying that, “non-vanilla ice cream is not white”.

    Anyway, now that I have that pet peeve of mine out of the way (sorry, it’s the Computer Scientist grad student in me), I do have to say that I got a good laugh out of the headline and the article, and you’re very right about the accuracy of their so-called study. It left much to be desired, and it labels Apple product owners in the same stereotypical light that they’ve been cast in for years, simply because it grabs headlines for them.

  • iphonerulez

    Better add “envious” to the list of non-iPad owners.