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Welp, that does it. We’re all dumb. Well, that’s according to two loosely-related studies, anyway. Chitika recently released their report of mobile operating system usage by state for the United States. On its own it doesn’t say much — iPhone is used more in some area than others. You can checkout the chart below to see where it’s most popular (seems to be the bee’s knees out on the east coast).
But the side story here is that the result of this study correlates to another study that measured levels of education by state. Comparing the two side-by-side shows that places with the highest levels of education are also the places where iPhones are used the most. Here’s a map illustrating the results (dark green is smartest):
Coincidence? Any iPhone apologetic wouldn’t want to believe that much, but that’s exactly what it is. The truth is these studies don’t often give us the most accurate picture, and they’re just like any other ridiculous stereotype: one “outlier” from the bunch makes it a useless statistic to cling to, and last time I checked there are a hell of a lot of smart people who use Android phones (and just as many dumb ones using iPhones). Take from it what you will, but it most certainly isn’t to be taken as gospel.
Then I am the dumbest smart person I know… wait huh?
Actually, the dumbest people I know use iPhones…
I thought that you had to be dumb to use an iPhone.
Yeah, I have a bachelors and working on another. Most of the people I know that own iPhones are teenage kids who are clueless about life. Now I feel offended by such claims.
I have an engineering degree and I own a nexus 6.
Ridiculous. Everybody knows that correlation is causation. THat’s how we know that the price of gold is directly tied to rising global temperatures and falling numbers of pirates.
AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!
Yep and video games causes violent behavior. Forget the logic books or psychology books, it’s all about opposite day becoming opposite life!
As a resident of Alabama, the inclusion of Mississippi in the “very high” breakdown should totally destroy the hypothesis of this study.
I see what you did there
Great…. Can’t wait for my iPhone buddy to get this news through the grapevines. Just more ammo for his inflated OS choice.
Does he come with iNSTRUCTIONs on how to deal with his iEGO?
Haha. Unfortunately not.
The higher than average iPhone use in Kansas and Mississippi is a little surprising, since they’re such POOR states. You’d have to be dumb, on average, to want an overpriced iPhone on a low income, but I guess the iPhone is still “bling”, right? Wait… is that racist?
Just go into a welfare office most the people in there are idiots, and most have an iPhone.
Or the “GalaxyPad 6” which is what I heard someone call their Note 4 in public to someone. I wanted to BlTCH slap them so hard.
Ah, so we finally figure out what model is the Obamaphone lol? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio
Then again, all the Republicans like to say “oh welfare abusers get free phones, so we must cut down on deadbeats.” Ironically, that’s like most of the state of Mississippi. This video is from Ohio, but still a funny video nevertheless. Deadbeats are everywhere though.
They should do a study to see locations of rooted android phones. That would be a better indicator.
That’s a funny conclusion. Strange how nearly all the educated and tech savvy people I know, use Android. Those that are educated but use iPhone either jumped on before Android and are too invested the ecosystem or are barely capable of using tech and iPhone is easy enough for them to use.
Yep I completely agree with that statement, and no doubt it is true
Clear case of looking for a result and finding studies to back up that result.
Here’s what the conclusion “should” be.
iPhones tend to be more expensive, and people with higher education tend to make more money, therefore are able to spend more on their phones. Therefore more educated populations tend to have higher iPhone use, due to higher incomes.
The education itself has nothing to do with the iPhone, and education and intellect are not interchangeable.
If you are trying to be funny, you are not. If you don’t understand the difference between causation and correlation, you are an idiot. Either way, this post is idiotic and should have been killed in its infancy by any competent editor.
It is a joke, lighten up.
Umm, what?
how much did apple pay for this “dumb” study
2014 Iphone 6 is a weaker device than 2012 Nexus 4 which it looks exactly like..
People paying Less but getting better technology are dumber than people Paying more for less technology? (You can always spot republican work- it never makes a damped bit of sense).
The results make sense, actually. People with more education tend to have more money. The average iPhone price is significantly more than the average Android price (since Android has phones across the spectrum while iPhone only has “high” end). Thus, it follows that iPhones are more likely to be owned by those with higher incomes (on the average).
You don’t use an iPhone because you’re educated. Rather, because you use an iPhone, it is more likely that you also have a higher level of education.
What’s misleading is not this study, but THIS article. The headline, “Study claims you’re dumb if you don’t use iPhone,” is good for clicks but grossly misrepresents the white paper. The white paper is very clear about only pointing out CORRELATION and in no way does it imply the causation proclaimed by the clickbait headline. Come on, Phandroid — you’re better than that; I’ll stick to Gawker & Drudge Report when I want sensationalized headlines not based on the underlying issues.
(that said, I’m still not sure why the study used stepwise regression. Doesn’t seem they needed to since they weren’t looking at individual variables in that way. I’m rusty on my regression analysis though, so if anyone can explain that to me, please do so)
Most people buy their phone on contract so the price difference is not that much. Also, several people that I work with got their iPhone 6 free on contract by trading in an older iPhone.
Makes sense but iPhone still sucks and android is the master race
Correlation does not imply causation. What makes more sense is that income levels and expensive phone purchases that imply a certain class status are positively correlated. You could also run the same data using Lexus purchases instead of iPhone sales, and I bet you’d make the same correlation above. You’re not dumb if you don’t own a Lexus. You’re either frugal, poor, or just don’t like them.
well….I do live in FL. This article might be correct.
My last Galaxy ‘Droid cost me $700 in cash…. why do iPhone users think that junk they paid $199 for on contract is more expensive?
I hate it when people call android phones Droids. Droid is a Verizon/Motorola product line. Galaxy is used in the Samsung line of Android phones. To call something Galaxy ‘Droid makes me think you’re trolling or that you’re very unknowledgeable on the phone you use. I’m not saying this is true I’m just saying don’t use the term Droid unless you’re referring to a Droid Razr or the like.
I hate some goofy poser telling me my 700 dollar cash money full priced An”droid” phone isn’t a Droid. My Hero was a Droid, my Evo was a Droid, my Galaxy S4 is a Droid too…. I give a rats ass that Verizon trademarked the word Droid you ridiculous clown. My android phones are Droids idiot
Oops scuse me moto trademarked it
Sorry Richard but you’re wrong there, your HTC Hero, Evo and Samsung Galaxy S4 are not Motorola Droids. When you call any and every Android phone a Droid phone you are discrediting other OEM manufacturers, as well as confusing newcomers to the Android scene.
My modified version of the Hero, the HTC Droid Eris, was released on the Verizon Wirelessnetwork on November 6, 2009….
Sounding reasonable as you spout wrong information- can be labeled in various ways…..
You originally referred to a Galaxy Droid, not a HTC Droid Eris. You also mentioned an HTC Hero, Evo and Samsung Galaxy S4 none of those were Droids either.
Look up Droid Incredible- it’s an HTC Evo, look up Droid Eris- it’s an HTC Hero….. my entire point was Android phones were and are commonly referred to as Droid beyond, before and after Motorola trademark. Droid is short for Android little fella…. stop making an ass of yourself?
That may have been your point but that is not what you originally wrote. I have made no ass of myself but this conversation is definitely over “big fella”.
He’s not your big fella, man.
Some people are so weird to keep pushing a bad position.
Too bad other Android brands used the name Droid before Motorola and after- making your argument assinine. I know asinine has 1 s… stop trying to school people smarter than yourself…. bringing a knife to a gunfight is an iphoner move btw
THANK YOU! I try telling people the same thing, but they don’t understand.
Incidentally, a bunch of them were iPhone users lol.
modified version of the Hero, the HTC Droid Eris, was released on the Verizon Wirelessnetwork on November 6, 2009…. puppies trying to bark like big dogs are so amusing.
For the record, the name droid is a trademark of Verizon. And they’ve mainly used it for motorola made phones. You’re splitting hairs. My point is that Android based smart phones are not collectively called ‘Droids and it makes me cringe when they are.
“Droid is a Verizon/Motorola product line.” With new information your story is evolving.
Just don’t refer to Android phones as Droids unless you’re referring to a phone that used that in it’s name. It makes you sound like an idiot.
I
Yea he’s trolling.
My modified version of the Hero, the HTC Droid Eris, was released on the Verizon Wirelessnetwork on November 6, 2009……….. Google it sonny. Every android phone was a Droid before Motorola trademarked the name. Now hush fool
No response-? At least you are smart enough to shut up, finally…. or are you still googling only to find some of us early adopters had non- Moto Droids?
You know most people know what i’m talking about. i don’t need to keep defending and obvious position.
Ironically enough, some of the most unintelligent people I have met have been college graduates. Just because you master one subject doesn’t mean you know everything.
And not ironically, some of the biggest dumbasses I know never went to school.
School only provides an education – education cures ignorance.
You can’t cure stupid.
I do believe this is just Quentyn poking fun at the study for anyone getting their feathers ruffled. It’s a funny coincidence that’s all.
Having an education doesn’t necessarily mean you are a good thinker or “smart”. It just means you memorized or learned the specific things you were taught.
Having an education means there’s a *high possibility* that you either more disciplined or have more exposure (and were able to soak some of that in) to different areas of specialization than someone who does not have an education of that same level.
A tad bit deeper than just having a more photographic of a memory for multiple choice questions.
This.
We will see who is dumb when Apple’s market share is like 1%. I will be the asking who is dumb now BIATCH
So Mississippi has high iPhone use and yet always scores very low in testing scores. I’m confused as to how this claim is true. It doesn’t take much to confuse me though since I am an avid Android user.
Yeah. Mississippi is usually toward the bottom in almost every metric.
Not true! They’re tops in plenty of things.
… not good or desirable things, sure.
Brian, every useful and important positive metric*. There, happy?
Mississippi: Welfare abusing, hick heavy, redneck educated, and racist shanty town state? If you can use the iPhone, you’re a professor at Ole Miss or Miss State lol.
iPhone was specifically built for the tech-illiterate types.
iCannotUseAndroidOrWindowsItMakesItTooHard
Hit the nail on the head. People too dumb or too lazy to customize are iPhone users. I just don’t get the one size fits all sheep in a crowd- everything is exactly the same- mentality. The old Apple commercials with the hammer thrower – exemplifies the current Apple customers- and iPhone users are not the hammer thrower- they are the crowd of exactly the same drones seated- if anyone remembers the old commercials
Modular smartphones are going to reinvent the market leaving Apple in a state of shock!
I would love to see this, however I dont know many people want to deal with the headache of building a phone. Think of it this way, how many non-tech people do you know that build a computer for themselves?
Most people still just go to Best Buy and buy what every they are told. . . some premade (stock) computer.
People who throw money at a brand and have no idea what they’re actually buying are dumb in my book.
so the most complicated OS has dumber users than the most simple OS? hmmm!
But but, an euphemism for stupid people, user friendliness, is what it’s all about and all the smart people want user friendliness.
http://dilbert.com/strip/2008-05-08
but the more complicated OS offers more! this is what the really smart people want.
This article appears to be missing a second Map. the only map shown shows the use of iPhone usage it doesn’t show anything about smartness
It uses Apple Maps to get the 2nd map. I tried to find it, but it just shows me Red Sea instead. So much for Apple Maps :(.
Mississippi is one of the dumbest states in the Union, if not the dumbest. So much for this “study.” I guess I can come up with %s and say I made a “study” by making absurd statements. I’ll go ahead: People that don’t drive stick are going to be abject failures in life. 66% of stick drivers have a bachelor’s degree. See, making up bullshit is absolutely easy and fun!
Trickle down = 1% pee on the rest of us
According to my study you’re dumb if you use an Iphone.
Except iPhones, much like anything else Apple produces, is geared towards the technologically ignorant masses. Some power users may fall in love with the overpriced hardware, but even they realize that there’s somethings Windows based PC’s are more suited to handling.
So Kentucky is full of highly intelligent people? Seems legit.
Being from KY and still living there, I can attest to this. =p
So the image conscious people that still aren’t over being unpopular in high school that make up 10 percent of the population and buy Apple products and become journalists think they are the “smart ones”. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA.
So I live in a state that is apparently super smart, super rich, and super iPhone… However, I’m also a store manager with 5 highly paid employees 2 of them in graduate school, one of them in college and another part time educator with a Au.D. degree and I myself hold a bachelors in Cognitive Sciences… Now, between the 6 of us, 3 of us have Windows phones, one of us still has a Motorola fliphone, someone had to have a Note, and I have a Nexus 5. See, sampling data works a few ways. ZERO iPhones coincidence? #TheTruthIsOutThere
Or my sample, which would only account for my little slice of Atlanta, GA. I am a college educated applications analayst for a big healthcare corp, Android. Girlfriend is a PHD student at Emory, Android.
Our fav waitress at our regular bar, iPhone. The 3 women who typically working the bar at Starbucks, iPhone. Guys ignoring all the evidence that their idea of a “pay as you can” motorcycle shop in the most expensive rent in East Atlanta, iPhones. Janitor in my office, iPhone. Things they all have in common, not highly educated.
So I guess there isnt even much to the coorelation.
Same here. I have a Masters in Construction Management and a Bachelors in Architecture. I did my research and picked my OG Droid and every other Android phone I’ve had since. I still wouldn’t pick an iPhone. Maybe it’s because I actually like choices and I don’t care about paying for a name.
I found this obnoxious enough when I saw it off the front page CNN yesterday to rant about it: https://plus.google.com/108338299717386673901/posts/FGBtUNm6CTr
TLDR: Their jump from correlation to causation is perhaps the most common logical fallacy ever committed. I don’t know whether iPhone or Android users are more intelligent, but a better indicator would be to analyze which type of phone Chitaka employees are using. That data alone may be enough to reduce the average user intelligence of that platform to be statistically significant.
lets not forget that Chitika is an ADVERTISING firm.
Indeed. And just how do they track those of us who use Adblock and Adway? It’s crap.
So Chitika has proven that the folks most likely to be stupid enough to click on their spam links are iPhone users. I mean, you folks understand that Chitika is a spamming platform right?
This is the kind of study which is tailored for iPhone users. Next week, there will be a similar one that claims “iPhone users wear shoes with laces” and you will see the sale of shoe laces going up the roof. To compensate for these bogus studies. You just need to release another similar survey: “iPhone users are smarts and rich, most of them have played russian roulette several times”. It’s almost certain, with a 95 % confidence interval, that shortly after, the number of active iPhone users worldwide will drop to close to 0% percent.
Making fallacious claims and getting mob to agree- is fox newsish. Droid was a common description for any android phone – before you began using them obviously. Those of us who were early adopters of the platform before you and the mob of wrong with you- forgive your haughty arrogant ignorance.
The people who did this study are the same “American Voters” Jonathan Gruber was talking about….
Wait. Stop. This is not how statistics work. You post this crap on the internet where everyone can see it? You can just slap together two studies with two different datasets and call it one. You might be dumb if you’ve never taken stats and you try to pretend like you know what you’re talking about.
When trying to flame someone- at least have the correct information and not be totally wrong-headed all I’m saying.
It really just goes by the poverty of the state. Android has cheaper/free phones. Also, book smart does not mean you are smart :P
I won’t believe Chitika crap.
Using a stupid device like iphone just like putting yourself in jail, that’s why so many want to jailbreak. People don’t know tech usually like to use iphone, because it is far less options and freedom for user, but they just think that is simpler.
How much money did apple pay them?? Seriously a bunch on bs
I’ve seen some really stupid studies but this one takes the cake.. And I have an iPhone so I ain’t gonna spike any footballs and do a victory dance because that would make ME dumb.
Most android people are either techies, apple haters or people who just plain don’t care for brand loyalty.
Apple users tend to be old people, Apple cultists, people who buy it to feel ” premium ” and also people who just don’t care either way.
Bottom line is. There’s dummies in both groups so use what OS makes ya happy and it doesn’t hurt to be like me and use em all :)
I used to be an apple iPhone user…. but I wanted 4G super huge screens and removable batteries and customizable interface 4 years before IPhone could manage it- so I went Droid.
Before iPhone got it 4G was “a marketing gimmick”, before IPhone got bigger screens they were “hummers”, before iPhone got removable batteries- wait that’s iPhone 14, before iPhone got customizable interface- wait that’s iPhone 16, before iPhone got microsd storage- wait that will be iPhone 19….. anyone else see the pattern of awesome upgrades(that Droid have had forever)?
I mean let’s stop talking like iPhone is on the same level as Droids. Only a fool can’t see what was and how far behind they still are on the commonest festures.
Hmm, you are dumb. How many android phones have large screens, removable batteries and microsd? Some of the top android phones have none of those features (moto). Rumor is Samsung is going away from removable battery. Waiting for others to succeed or fail with a new feature isn’t always a bad idea (Google wallet). 4G didn’t matter for a long time because carrier implementation was terrible and limited. Android has apple on the customization thing, but that is typically used to fix annoyances in android. So after all that…. You are still dumb.
From my experience it’s the simpler, less technically-inclined user that prefers iPhone; by actual education credentials though, those people probably just want to get their phone usage out of the way and have the most compatibility so they can get things done, because school is hard enough.
That’s totally true, however the study based “intelligence” on the median income and amount of people with degrees. Ingenuity is often discredited in these kinds of surveys, and it’s important to note that Einstein flunked math. lol I think it should say more “successful” people use iphones, not necessarily intelligent.
I just have to say, that Einstein never flunked math, it is a myth and has been proven incorrect.
Looked it up, my mistake. Doesn’t take away from my point, though.
I still think it’s because they just don’t have the patience to futz with config and willingly sacrifice those options to get whatever things done with the iPhone that they can immediately see that it does.
Yep, cuz they’re too busy going to board meetings and business lunches… Lol
What they should really be studying is the correlation between population density of hipster-dufuses and iPhone usage.
Truly meaningless survey. Just a note, Alaska & Mississippi are not exactly equated with high education standards.
And then there’s people like me that use both.
i saw another study that linked iPhone density with prevalence of dishonesty, corruption and graft. Yet another showed quite clearly that pretty much every person on earth who gives orders to kill people uses either an iPhone or a Blackberry
Don’t you just love studies that don’t understand that correlation does not imply causation?
Hmmm….so all this study really shows are the states whose populations are most heavily influenced by peer pressure and are the most receptive to being told what they like.
I guess the idiots that did this study didnt think that one could have absolutely nothing to do with the other and just be a coincidence ?? Those things do happen ya know.
Heres my take. iPhone users want a smartphone. Android users want their own smartphone.
and then they were trolled…
iPhone looks great for doing its job .
I live in Georgia, a High IPhone use state, and specifically in my company, out of 30 employees, the owner, me as GM, and 4 out 5 managers and supervisors we all use Android. 1 manager uses IPhone. 16 employees use IPhone, and most of them are the lowest paid employees, the rest use Android and 3 dumb phones.
That makes about 53% IPhone users 10 dumb phone users, 37% Android users. However, Android users (excluding the owner, make for more than 70% of the income paid by the company. Go figure
Better keep an eye on those iphone employees. They could take your job while your still trying to figure out why your phones in a boot loop
It’s either “phone’s in a boot loop”, or “phones are in a boot loop”
He is a iphone sheep, do not know better
Jajajajajaja you dream!
Hmm this study seems to be poorly done. By this logic if you do the math iphones make up 60% of the US market? We know that’s not true. Web usage means nothing making this whole study fall apart. A better test would be to compare Android users directly to iphone users without geography.
Ohh, wait a minute … because iphone user are more intelligent they use iphone because it sooo simple, or otherway arround, the Android user are sooo dull therefore they use the complex Android phones. What kind of dulls must be the maker of this study, not realising the big nonsens they are telling.
The maker of that study have no idea how to correlate social data, and are most probably as birdbrained as most of the iphone user are! But more likely this is just an paid study by the ugly apple company. Everyone knows that most of the iphone user have no idea about the device or technology, like all that girls they look at their nails and can not count to three, but just want something glamour and most important, very very easy to use. The iphone can just open an app, close it and open another app. For most people simply too boring. It is for children, birdbrained people and grandparents.
just cuz u go to college doesn’t make u smarter.
I can likes to spellz veree goud.
For a second there I thought you guys were sensationalizing the studies. Once I read them I about fell out of my chair. As a side note, you might want to throw in a direct quote or two from it so it doesn’t it seem like you are spinning a story.
That is kind of like saying that Ice cream causes people to commit crimes. Numerous studies show that people tend to eat more ice cream when it is warm, and other studies have shown that people tend to commit more crimes when it is warm. Clearly Ice cream causes crime. Arrest Ben and Jerry!
Better yet…free Ben and Jerry ice cream for the masses to keep everyone cool!
I have a PhD and I use android :)
here is many other correlations: For example US spending on science, space, and technology correlates with Suicides by hanging, strangulation and suffocation
http://www.tylervigen.com/
Android’s are for intelligent people (geeks) while iPhones are for hipsters (wannabe geeks) lol
It’s fairly obvious that those deemed “smart” (i.e. educated) will have more money and will be more likely to own expensive luxury items.
Android is available to all and not just a rich few which is why those in lower paid jobs (those deemed stupid by the study) are likely to have an Android device.
Hmmm…how does Mississipi show up as dark green? They are at the bottom of the heap educationally. 49th place for high school diplomas. 48th for bachelors. 46th for advanced degrees.
Lies, dam lies and statistics.
The reason why iPhone shows up in higher educated areas is that is where more people with more disposable income live.
If a correlation of premium smartphones vs education it would show the same, though I think even then the iPhone would count for the majority anyway. But there are too many factors to be truely meaningful, for example, I am guessing that most corporation head offices are in the same states that have higher levels of education and since the iPhone dominates corporate purchases there is one reason (of many many factors).
When I buy a smartphone, I am making a technology purchasing decision, not joining a cult religion.
That is why I don’t buy Apple. In the 80’s and 90’s I was a loyal, card-carrying Apple fanboy. No more.
Based on other market reality factors, I end up choosing Android.