YNOT — According to a new survey by gadget-shopping site Retrevo.com, one in five iPhone users watches porn on their handsets. That 20 percent of users is twice the 10 percent of Blackberry owners who admit to the practice, survey results indicated. iPhone users also watch three times as much TV on their phones and spend one and one-half times as many minutes checking news and sports scores as their Blackberry toting brethren.The informal study, which looked at responses from 445 iPhone and Blackberry owners who are not Retrevo.com users, was conducted by an independent panel on behalf of the e-tailer. Participants, all residents of the U.S., were evenly distributed across gender, age and income levels as well as geographical regions.
iPhone users also said they consider themselves intellectuals (40 percent), extroverts (61 percent) and media buffs (36 percent). Very few — only 18 percent — said they consider themselves jocks. Interestingly, Blackberry users rated themselves more modestly in all four areas, although their partners ranked them slightly higher in all traits than they rated themselves.
That was a particularly telling bit of information, since more females than males use iPhones (53 percent vs. 40 percent), according to the survey. For Blackberries, the genders stacked up in reverse: 59 percent of survey respondents who use Blackberries are male, while 41 percent are female. Add that to the indication three times more iPhone owners find the latest gadgets more attractive than a college degree when considering potential partners, and an interesting portrait of iPhone users as techno-snobs begins to emerge. Blackberry owners said they found the reverse to be true. Perhaps Blackberry owners are more sensible, or maybe fun-loving female iPhone owners are looking for more than an analytical mind when it comes to potential mates. In any case, 35 percent of iPhone users said out-of-date gadgetry was a turn-off; 29 percent of Blackberry users tendered that response.
There are some ways in which the two groups seem similar. For example, both text equally as often. In addition, in response to a question asking “Is it okay to propose marriage using a text message?” almost everyone said “no.” However, iPhone users are more likely to break up with someone electronically: 33 percent of them admitted to brushing off a former romantic interest via text message or email, whereas 22 percent of Blackberry users admitted to having done the same thing.
iPhone owners can be less tolerant of seeing their own behaviors reflected in others, as well, according to the survey’s results. Although the majority of iPhone users said they are “addicted” to their gadgets and use them everywhere they go, they also admitted they have broken off relationships with others who spent too much time with their electronic devices. Only 17 percent of Blackberry owners said they were offended by potential mates’ over-reliance on their phones. Are iPhone owners as self-absorbed as the results make them seem?
Retrevo.com admits the study was far from scientific and may encourage folks to draw some unwarranted conclusions. However, the company couldn’t resist drawing a conclusion of its own.
“This data could lead to creating unfair stereotypes, but you have to admit it sure paints a picture of a group of smartphone owners that ‘think different,’ and another more down-to-earth, mainstream group of BlackBerry owners,” a spokesperson noted on the company’s blog.
