Men and Tech

By RJ Bardsley

This issue of AdWeek is dedicated to the male demographic and all of the things that the advertising world should be focused on to successfully sell things to dudes.  While I enjoyed reading about how the industry views my demographic, I was particularly interested in the section on Men and Technology. 

Did you know that over half of younger men (age 18-34) feel like it’s perfectly OK to make a cell phone call in a crowded elevator?  That same group is also perfectly fine making a call from a urinal.  The elevator guy annoys me; the urinal guy doesn’t bother me but I do know a few guys who have dropped their phone while in that position – so call & pee at your own risk.

Another fun fact: more men prefer to shop online than women.  Who knew?  It was unclear if that number included digital goods – like software, apps, music and videos – but it’s still an interesting figure.  If you’re going to sell online you might want to consider a campaign that appeals more to men.

As far as mobile devices are concerned, 54 percent of men 18-34 would rather go without TV for a year than without their mobile device.  In the older demographic (35-49) that number drops to 38 percent.  While I’m over 35 I would side with the younger crowd – I could easily lose the TV forever and not miss it, but I couldn’t go a day without my mobile.

There were also some interesting numbers around how men behave online versus in person.  About a third of younger men reported that:

• They are a different person online than offline
• Most of their social interactions occur online
• They have at least one friend that they interact with regularly online that they have never actually met
• They say things to people online that they would never have the nerve to say in person.

The numbers were lower across the board for these attributes in older men (35-49); in each case results ranged from 20-26 percent.

For more details on the study check out the latest issue of Adweek here.