What does your computer say about you? City dweller or suburban resident? Hollywood or independent films? Harley or Vespa?
A project from Hunch.com suggests computer preferences reflect different personalities and lifestyles, especially between personal computer (PC) users and those of Mac computers.
Data drawn from 388,000 of the website's readership focused on whether respondents identify with Mac, PC or neither, as well as other social tidbits such as political leaning and food preferences. Fifty-two percent of people surveyed identify themselves as PC users, one-fourth as Mac users and almost another fourth as neither.
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In line with previous perceptions about Mac products, the brand's users tend to be younger than PCers, earlier adopters of new technology and more likely to want to be "perceived as unique and different."
Respondents who rely on PCs were more likely to view Hollywood films, while those relying on Macs preferred indie flicks. More PC users reside in the suburbs, while their Mac counterparts preferred city living. At the dinner table, Mac users were 80 percent more likely to consider themselves vegetarian and preferred red wines rather than whites, unlike PC users.
There were some differences from a similar survey conducted in 2009, however. Since then, PC popularity increased by 4 percent and Mac's has dropped 6 percent. It's possible that the success of the iPod, iPhone and iPad may contribute to the brand becoming more mainstream, which may affect its uniqueness to certain computer users.
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In the last decade, both Microsoft and Mac have kept the debate alive with ads convincing buyers to join a side.
Despite their differences, the two sides of the computing schism share quite a bit in common: Both are likely to be college-educated, enjoy reading The New York Times, and watch the TV show The Office, to list a few.
Looking at your own personality and computer preference, do you identify with a Mac, PC or neither? Are the two camps really that different?
Photo by seanmcgrath/Flickr.com
Tags: Technology
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