Geek Pride Is on the Rise

A phone survey of 1,011 American adults regarding perceptions of geeks, technology, personal passions and hobbies revealed that most of the general population (87%) do not hide their personal or potentially embarrassing passions or interests.

About two thirds of respondents (65%) said if they were trying to impress someone, they would take pride in “geek” toys, such as stuffed animals, and nine out of 10 say they would be proud of their books and comic books. Other personal items that respondents say they would be proud of include music collections (94%); video games (77%) and those they follow on social media (72%).

Among other findings:

65% say they would be proud of their superhero or cartoon-character clothing – including pajamas;  

68% of respondents said they would date a geek;

Among the 13% of respondents who say they do hide their personal or embarrassing passions or interests, most (72%) say they hide them from neighbors; and

Co-workers (70%), friends (63%), significant others (32%) and parents (28%) are among the people so-called geeks say they hide interests from.

As tech companies continue to roll out wearable gadgetry, a majority (61%) of self-described geeks say they would buy and wear a “smart watch” (a computerized wrist watch with Smartphone functionality) and 56% say the same about “smart glasses” (glasses with Smartphone and camera functionality). About one-third of non-geeks are also interested in purchasing/wearing a “smart watch” and “smart glasses.”

Geek pride is increasing. Slightly more than half of those surveyed (58%) define geeks as “extremely intelligent,” a jump of 13 percentage points since the previous Geek Pride Survey in 2011. The 2013 Geek Pride survey was conducted in April.