Gmail Users More Tech-Savvy, Thinner than Yahoo!, AOL E-Mailers

Choice of email domain indicates lifestyle choices. CREDIT: Hunch.com

Gmail users are more likely to be tech-savvy, well-traveled and career-minded men with iPhones, whereas Yahoo! users tend to be overweight women who like spending time in pajamas with their families, according to a new study.

Although these findings seem jarring, a new study by Hunch.com – a site that makes recommendations based on preferences, ranging from which car you should drive to which vacation or college choice is best for you –suggests your choice of e-mail domain can reveal a lot about your lifestyle.

Hunch used 75 million answers to questions that it asked its 700,000 members to predict particular demographics, personality and other characteristics based on four popular e-mail domains: Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL and Hotmail/MSN.

The aggregated data found that Gmail users are most likely to be thin young men (ages 18 to 34), who are college-educated and career-minded. They are well-traveled, tend to live in cities and are plugged into the tech world — they read blogs, have an iPhone and laptop and listen to MP3s. They also tend to be more politically liberal, single and childless.

Meanwhile, Hotmail users are more likely to be single young women of average build (ages 18 to 34 and younger) that live in the suburbs -- possibly still with their parents, the report said. This more introverted group enjoys reading contemporary fiction, eating sweet treats and is often pessimistic.

Yahoo! users tend to be an overweight, female crowd (ages 18 to 49), according to the findings. They have high school diplomas, several kids and prefer lounging around in pajamas at home. The report also noted that they read mostly magazines and enjoy spending time on the computer, listening to CDs and are likely to be extroverted.

AOL users are also likely to be overweight women with kids, though this group is slightly older (ages 35 to 64). Like Yahoo! users, they are extroverted and have been in a relationship for more than ten years. However, unlike Gmail users, they haven’t traveled much outside their own country.

“Although these correlations don't apply to every individual case, the data shows that there are general attributes and demographic measures which are more strongly associated with some e-mail domains than others,” Kelly Ford, vice president of marketing for Hunch, told TechNewsDaily.

Gmail for job seekers

Unless you have a custom domain connected to an elite alma mater or a professional website that hiring managers will find irresistible, Gmail is the preferred e-mail service, especially in the media and tech fields, Hunch said.

“No one will take you seriously if you're using an archaic domain,” Ford added. “AOL probably has the worst reputation among e-mail users for spam, and people can also be suspicious of foreign e-mail addresses coming from Hotmail too, so it’s advised to just stick with Gmail.”

Ford also stressed that job-seekers should stick to the first-name, last-name format when selecting an e-mail address.

 “It makes it easier for people to remember your name, plus it’s more professional than something that mentions your favorite brand or has a series of numbers,” Ford said.

“Just like you would carefully pick out clothes to wear to an interview, you want to choose your e-mail domain with the same precision and think about the impression you want to make.”

Reach TechNewsDaily senior writer Samantha Murphy at smurphy@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @SamMurphy_TMN.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister sit to LiveScience.