Men Want Tech for Christmas More Than Women Do

As the year creeps steadily towards its end, thoughts turn to what sort of presents people might want for Christmas.

Sure, you’re almost certainly going to get some socks from your parents and your aunty will buy you some smellies from a brand you haven’t used since your teenage years, but few people actually get what they want in their stocking so does it really matter?

A recent YouGov poll reveals that electronic products are far down on the list of desires, but what is more interesting is the fact that, of the 9% of people that said they wanted tech, the vast majority were men rather than women.

The question is, why?

What People Say They Want

If you’re thinking about what to buy someone for Christmas, you might well want to consider the answers to the poll held by YouGov. Here is what people said that they want, picking their top three categories:

• Clothes or Shoes: 33%
• Books: 25%
• Health & Beauty Products: 20%
• Food & Snacks: 20%
• Vouchers: 20%
• Drink, Including Alcohol: 18%
• Experiences Such as Events: 17%
• Jewellery: 15%
• A Holiday or Trip: 12%
• Consumer Electronics: 9%
• Other: 16%

If you’re looking to buy a present for someone then you would do well to lean towards getting them a book or some clothes that you think will fit. In fact, technology is down as the lowest thing that people would like to find underneath the Christmas tree on December 25th.

Why Don’t People Want Tech for Christmas?

It is fascinating to read that people don’t really want technology as a Christmas present and the obvious question that it begs is: why? In truth, technology is an extremely personal thing. Take something like a mobile phone, for example. We all spend more time using our mobile than pretty much any other device, so most people want to take their time to pick the one that they like the most. For some it will be about something as simple as the colour, whilst for most it will be about the Operating System first and foremost.

As much as you might love to receive something as expensive as a mobile for Christmas, the reality is that you are likely to feel extremely disappointed if you’re an Android user and someone has bought you an iPhone. Even if they get the right make of phone that you would choose, the chances are slim that they will have identified the right model unless they’ve asked you about it first. Then there is the fact that tech as a thing tends to be expensive, so some people will feel an innate sense of guilt if someone has spent a lot of money on them when they haven’t done the same in return.

Men Want Tech More Than Women

A deep-dive into the information supplied for YouGov reveals that it is overwhelmingly men that would choose a tech gift for Christmas. Although it was only 9% of respondents that said they’d be happy with it, of that 9%, 76% identified as male compared to the 24% that identified as female. Those that know about the tech industry as a whole might not be all that surprised, give then fact that it has long been considered to be a male-dominated one. Many, though, thought that that was more about a lack of access to the industry rather than men generally being keener on technology than their female-identifying counterparts.

@thetechcornr Never has, never will!! #tech #techtok #careertiktok #girlpower ♬ The Hills x Say It Right – 87 ℃

Of course, just because men are more likely to want technology for Christmas doesn’t mean that they like technology more in general. You will find plenty of women who are well-up on their tech knowledge and don’t like the idea of the tech industry being dominated by toxic men such as Elon Musk. Even so, it is a fascinating poll that perhaps reveals more about where people are at in terms of what they might want someone else to buy them for Christmas. The likes of a book is a generally harmless present, with most people happy to invest time reading one even if they don’t know the topic. Tech, on the other hand is too personal to take risks with.

Older People Want Tech More Than Younger Ones

The breakdown of respondents to the poll by age is intriguing. It was overwhelmingly more older people that wanted technology as a Christmas gift, with 29% of those aged 55 and over responding positively compared to 20% of those aged 18-24. Here is the breakdown by age bracket:

• 18-24: 20%
• 25-34: 15%
• 35-44: 13%
• 45-54: 23%
• 55+: 29%

Even allowing for the fact that more respondents were likely to be in the 55+ bracket than other age groups, it is still intriguing to see that older people were happy to receive gifts of consumer electronics in their stocking. If we consider 35 and over to be ‘older’, 55% of the people that said they wanted tech were ‘old’ compared to 45% that said it.

I have a sidekick for my next road trip at the end of November.

My mother is going to come with me to review the Tesla Power Wall 3.

50+ and 70+ reviewing green tech. We hit such a missing demographic!

Plus there’s a Christmas menu at the nearby restaurant lol

— Sarah Go Green💚 (@sarah_go_green) October 18, 2024

There are likely to be numerous reasons for that, including the idea that older people are more likely to ask for help and guidance from others around the idea of what is the best tech for them, plus the fact that they have more disposable income means that they’re less likely to think that buying some tech as a Christmas present would be an issue.