Study: iPad Owners Are Selfish, Rich Elitists

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The data MyType gathered was based on 20,000 respondents, mostly ranging in age from 13 to 49, and found that people with an income over $200,000 were four times as likely to own an iPad than those who earned less.

Further, MyType found people were more likely to own iPads if they were interested in business, finance, had low altruism and valued power. Those attributes made up the "selfish elite" label that Koelkebeck gave to iPad owners. "We looked for a fuzzy, fit function when we did the selfish profile. The people who fit those attributes were six times more likely to buy an iPad than the average person," he said,

"In terms of personality, the people who had gotten or were planning on getting an iPad were not altruistic. They seek power and are wealthy," Koelkebeck said. "They are not particularly kind."

Only three percent of respondents were actually iPad owners or likely to be owners. Meanwhile, 11 percent were defined as iPad critics. This reflects the fact that while iPads have been big sellers, they have not become a fixture for most people.

Those who do not like the iPad tend to be the independent-minded and geeky, Koelkebeck said. He defined those categories by including people who are interested in Linux operating systems, have a strong interest in computers and electronics and whose highest value is self-direction. They also value nonconformity highly.

"Bashing the iPad is, in a way, an identity statement for independent geeks.  As a mainstream, closed-platform device whose major claim to fame is ease of use and sex appeal, the iPad is everything that they are not," Koelkebeck wrote on a blog post.

Lastly, there was a third group MyType was able to identify through the study, which does not know anything about the iPad at all. It represented six percent of the respondents. However, Koelkebeck said it could not get a clear-cut profile of this group.

"They are not defined by positive or negative feelings on the iPad. They are defined by their lack of knowledge," he said. "You can't expect that to be a cohesive group."

Koelkebeck did say there was a degree to subjectivity in trying to piece together the answers of thousands of respondents. But he still feels the data, interpretations aside, is robust.