The science of Fanboyism.....

[kennyc]

We've all encountered them. They lurk in Internet message boards, comment threads, and chatrooms. Addressing anyone and everyone, they type up lengthy tirades with Cheeto-stained fingers, extolling the virtues of their product or brand of choice. They angrily accuse even the most impartial reviewers of taking handouts from reviled competitors of a beloved company, and they casually and systematically dismiss any evidence that might conflict with their worldview.

They're known in our parlance as fanboys.

For years, I've quietly wondered about what drives them. What on Earth pushes sane, otherwise intelligent people to develop an irrational bias toward a given brand or product?

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/21294

[MJK2111]

Originally Posted by kennyc

What on Earth pushes sane, otherwise intelligent people to develop an irrational bias toward a given brand or product?

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/21294

Tossing-off too much?

[CyGuy]

Originally Posted by MJK2111

Tossing-off too much?

You do have to exercise caution or there can be negative consequences:

[TGS]

Originally Posted by MJK2111

Tossing-off too much?

I recently bought my wife an iPad - at her request, she really does think being able to make things bigger and smaller with two fingers is worth 500 quid. Having played with it I find myself at the edges of fanboyism. It may also be that, now my wife has all her needs met by her iPad, I find myself engaging in the kind of behaviour described by MJK2111. However, I feel bound to point out that correlation does not equal causation.

[rhadin]

Fanboyism is the result of a lack of anything else in one's life (including sufficient imagination to have an X-rated mind!). Nothing else to do but latch onto the first craze that makes one part of the "in" crowd.