Self-admitted pretensions of Mac users on a predominantly PC university campus

Michael W. Firmin, Whitney L.Muhlenkamp Wood, Ruth L. Firmin, Jordan C. Wood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present qualitative research study addressed the overall research question of college students' pretention dynamics in the context of a university setting. Thirty-five Mac users were interviewed on a university campus that exclusively supports PC machines. Mac users shared four self-admitted pretensions related to using Macintosh computers. First, participants asserted that Apple brand computers set social trends and that owning a Mac was perceived to make one to stand out positively. Second, Mac users shared their personal views that Macs are superior in technology and that PC technology is simply attempting to mimic Apple's strides forward. Third, Mac users described various perceived social stigmas associated with owning Macs, such as the "artsy" label, the "cool" factor, and common socio-economic assumptions associated with Mac ownership. The fourth dynamic of participants' self-admitted pretensions concerned their tendency to vocalize personal opinions of Mac's superiority, with the aim of "converting" PC users.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalEducational Media International
Volume47
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2010

Keywords

  • Apple
  • Computers
  • Mac
  • Macintosh
  • PCs
  • Qualitative research

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Communication

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