How Geeks Pass the Time

Baldwin Louie — Mon, 25 Jun 2001 15:00:00 -0700

They were known as "nerds" and "geeks" in high school. But now we call them friends. There are 27 million "technology enthusiasts" in the United States, representing about 13 percent of all adults. And while they're still likely to watch Star Trek and play chess, their lifestyle and interests are much less, well, geeky than one might expect.

To create a profile, The Standard identified a group of tech-focused adults using data from Mediamark Research's massive consumer behavior study. MRI polls 26,000 Americans each year about their buying habits and personal life, and its data is widely used by marketers.

The Standard defined tech enthusiasts as Americans who use the Internet, have a home computer and own two or more high-tech gadgets. When surveyed, these individuals also say they are early adopters of high-tech products and believe technology is important to their lives.

It turns out geeks are rich. Forty-four percent have household incomes of $75,000 or more, and 40 percent graduated from college. But they're not that young; more than half are between the ages of 35 and 54.

Perhaps most surprisingly, techies are not tethered to their computers. They are more likely to participate in almost all sports and leisure activities than U.S. adults overall. They travel, and they're heavy readers of newspapers and magazines. The TV show they're most likely to watch? Not Star Trek spinoffs or the X-Files, but Friends.

AMERICA'S TECH ENTHUSIASTS

There are 27 million techies in the United States. They are early adopters of technology, surf the Web and own a home computer along with other electronic gadgets. They are obsessed with electronics:

78% sent e-mail in the past month
51% surf the Net for fun
30% go online daily
38% have a camcorder
27% have a home fax machine
23% own a home-theater system
21% play online games
15% have been online 5+ years
11% visited an online chat room in the past 30 days
9% own a Minidisc player
7% listen to Internet radio
6% have a laserdisc player

THEY'RE BIG READERS

This group is highly likely to read Consumer Reports, Entertainment Weekly, Men's Journal, Outside, PC World, Runner's World, Ski, Spin, the Wall Street Journal and Working Mother. They're less likely to read Ebony, Harper's Bazaar, Health, Hunting and WWF magazine.

THEY'RE ATHLETIC

Techies are highly likely to participate in snowboarding, scuba diving, downhill skiing, whitewater rafting, golf, racquetball, martial arts, hockey and aerobics.

THEY'RE INVESTORS

Tech enthusiasts are highly likely to trade mutual funds, use a stock rating service, seek financial planning advice and have an American Express Gold card.

THEY'RE TV JUNKIES

Techies are highly likely to watch Ally McBeal, E.T. Weekend, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Star Trek, The West Wing, Will Grace and Whose Line Is It Anyway? They are less likely to watch America's Funniest Home Videos, Baywatch, Candid Camera, Malcolm & Eddie, Moesha, Shasta, Touched by an Angel and Wheel of Fortune.

THEY'RE ACTIVE

Tech enthusiasts keep themselves busy. They're highly likely to make models and ceramics, attend rock concerts, play chess, go to museums, shoot billiards and fly kites.

THEY'RE ECLECTIC

19% are liberal, 35% conservative, 36% middle of the road
They are less likely to smoke, but more likely to drink
46% have bought a lottery ticket in the past 12 months
80% own their own home
18% keep tropical fish
70% bought a book in the past year; 53% read one
4 million go to the movies at least once a month

THEY'RE GLOBE-TROTTERS

A third of techies traveled overseas in the past three years. They are highly likely to have visited France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia and Spain.

THEY'RE WEALTHY AND EDUCATED
	U.S. ADULTS	TECH ENTHUSIASTS
Total	200.6 million	26.7 million
Male	48%	51%
Female	52%	49%
AGE
18 to 24	13%	13%
25 to 34	19%	21%
35 to 44	22%	27%
45 to 54	18%	24%
55 or older	28%	15%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
$75,000 or more	25%	44%
$60,000 to $74,999	11%	16%
$40,000 to $59,999	21%	21%
$20,000 to $39,999	24%	14%
Less than $20,000	19%	5%
EDUCATION
Postgraduate	8%	13%
Bachelor's degree	15%	25%
Attended college	27%	35%
High school grad	33%	23%
Did not graduate high school	17%	4%
OCCUPATION
Professional	10%	18%
Executive, manager	10%	16%
Clerical, technical	19%	24%
Other employed	26%	21%
Not employed, retired	35%	21%
RACE
White	84%	90%
Black	12%	6%
Asian	3%	3%
Other	1%	1%
MARITAL STATUS
Single	24%	22%
Married	57%	67%
Divorced, other	19%	11%
CHILDREN
One	17%	20%
Two	15%	20%
Three or more	10%	9%
None	58%	51%
REGION OF U.S.
New England	5%	6%
Mid-Atlantic	16%	15%
East central	13%	11%
West central	15%	17%
Southeast	20%	18%
Southwest	12%	12%
Pacific	19%	21%
CITY TYPE
Central city	35%	33%
Suburban	46%	51%
Rural	19%	16%

All statements of likelihood refer to a comparison of tech enthusiasts to U.S. adults overall. "Highly likely" means techies are at least 40 percent more likely to be in the specified group; "less likely" means techies are at least 15 percent less likely to be in the group. Tech enthusiasts include U.S. adults who accessed the Net in the past 12 months, own a home computer and have two or more of the following devices: DVD player, digital camera or handheld computer. The individuals must also say they like technology, find technology important to them and are likely to purchase new technology products. Source: Mediamark Research, Spring 2001

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How Geeks Pass the Time