Ad blocking users feel the need for speed.
They’re fans of motorsports in general but, when asked what sports they following and regularly watch, 19% of ad blocking users named Formula 1 and 11.4% of ad blocking users brought up MotorGP. These proved more popular than competitors like NASCAR or IndyCar.
So: ad blocking users like watching fast cars careening around a track. That much is clear. But what might this interest say about their general personalities, likes, dislikes, and quirks?
No one has done a psychological deep dive into the world of motorsports enthusiasts. But plenty of motorsports enthusiasts have written extensively about what their passion means for them…and why they think other people should adopt their favorite hobby.
A Wired article that affectionately calls Formula 1 “the geekiest sport this side of the Quiddich Cup,” suggests that crucial reasons for watching motorsports include the facts that the engineering is as vital as the athletics and that stunning science and cutting-edge tech is on display.
The unapologetic fans over at The Bleacher Report cite the sport’s “incredibly deep, strong pool of talent” as a reason for tuning in, are thrilled that “every single one of the cars is a masterpiece,” and claim that it’s one of the few sporting events where the gimmicks add to, rather than detract from, the overall spectacle.
And, of course, the Verge’s article “In Formula 1, You Have To Be Amazing Just To Be Average,” doubles down on the fact that some jaw-dropping action occurs on the track.
And, while there’s no directly mapping the correlation between motorsports enthusiasm and personality traits, we can make a few inferences.
Motorsports fans are connoisseurs. They appreciate the fact that there’s no average— only amazing—in the world of Formula 1. They clearly respect the presence of that “deep pool of talent,” which means that everyone, from the engineers to the drivers, are on the top of their respective games.
Motorsports fans like the details. Sure, you can call this geekiness (like Wired does) but we prefer to read motorsports fans’ attention to every aspect of the event as exhibiting keen-eyed, comprehensive curiosity.
Motorsports fans are tech savvy. You don’t fall in love with Formula 1, it seems, unless you enjoy learning about the engineering, science, and mind-bogglingly nuanced tech that crafts the sport.
In fact, this list supports a few things we know about the ad blocking user demographic: a population of engaged, educated, professional thinkers who tend to spend a healthy amount of their time engaging with technology.
To say that the team at AAX is interested in ad blocking users is an understatement. We’re fascinated.
So we decided to consult the mass trove of data that GlobalWebIndex (GWI) keeps about internet behavior in order to tease out some of the particularities of the group. We took our findings and compiled “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ad Blocking Users,” a study that peers into everything from what motorsports they enjoy (which is what you just read about) to preferences for digital content purchasing and frequency of exercise.
The study will be published on January 16, 2020.
- Thought leadership
