2/3 of Kindle Users Over 40

[sirbruce]

Those young people usually get them from their parents, not themselves. And most parents will buy their kid a console or a cell phone before they buy them a Kindle. And most kids will want those before they want a Kindle, too.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by queentess

So yes, I'm going to say that the sample isn't random. The types of people who are on the boards daily and responding to polls are (in my opinion as a 20-something) going to be my mom's age, 50+

I agree. They're people who aren't comfortable with just googling for an answer, which is how many people come here. I found this place awhile back after I first saw the Sony Reader and started investigating it. My research showed me that it wasn't quite the device for me and, more importantly, that there were other options already out there and in the works. This involved taking the leap and looking at all sorts of sites that were dead ends and eventually finding a couple I found worthwhile to continue visiting. If I had not been comfortable doing this I may have just centered on manufacturer sites. It's my guess that's what many older and less web-comfortable people do. We have older people here but they seem to me to be a more adventurous sort.

[CleverClothe]

Originally Posted by taosaur

Self-selecting is also different from worthless. We all know this data should be taken with a grain of salt, but that doesn't mean we can make no inferences.

No, it does mean that we should not make inferences about the Kindle user population as a whole. You CAN make inferences about the population on the Kindle boards though.

[Sonist]

Newsflash!

According to this poll, the majority of kindle users have named their device GEORGE!

In light of this and the "over 40" findings, one may conclude that kindle owners as a group exhibit early signs of senility.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

Those young people usually get them from their parents, not themselves. And most parents will buy their kid a console or a cell phone before they buy them a Kindle. And most kids will want those before they want a Kindle, too.

I agree...most are that way. I wasn't and I wonder how many here weren't either? I have wanted an electronic reading device since I was around 10, 38-years ago (YIKES!!). I have always read a lot. I also, aside from a passing flirtation with Wizardry and then Doom when they were first released, never have had any affinity for video games of any sort.

[Arapito]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

Those young people usually get them from their parents, not themselves. And most parents will buy their kid a console or a cell phone before they buy them a Kindle. And most kids will want those before they want a Kindle, too.

In our house it works like this: during the day my wife uses the Reader (Sony 505 not Kindle), mainly catching up with our local paper or a magazine like the Economist downloaded via Calibre. After school gets out, our 8 year old monopolises it until bed time unless his older brother or sister muscle him off for an hour. After he goes to bed I finally get to read it.

So in our house there is one Reader but three regular readers - two of them over 40; the survey is validated again.

By the way, our 8 year old would much rather have his own Reader than a new console (he already has a Nindendo DS) or a cell phone. But he's young, give him time, he'll learn.