In my day job in data analytics, I use and also develop a number of software tools. One of the tools I use is a data visualization software called Tableau.
Today's post will be a little different as it will be much less wordy, and rely on visuals from a Tableau storyboard that I have constructed. So, let's begin.
These are the top 30 interests among participants sorted from most to least popular. By a large margin, the top 3 interests are movies, travelling and listening to music.
Some interests are universal; they have broad appeal across age groups. The top 3 universal interests are listening to music, movies and dining out. If you're on a date, and you find yourself at a loss for conversation topics, talk about any or all of these three things to keep the conversation flowing. Go into specifics to deepen the conversation: artistes, genres, restaurants etc.
Interestingly, across all age groups, the the top 7 interests tend to be fairly similar, but their relative ranking varies significantly by age group. For example, while travelling was the number 2 interest overall and popular with most age groups, it was not a universal interest because it did not figure in the top 7 for the under-25 age group. The under-25 age group was the only age group that did not find travelling important.
Here are the top 7 interests for each age group.
There are some discernible patterns in how interests vary with age. Here are 5 examples.
Interestingly, team sports are much less popular than individual sports. Maybe gay men just didn't get into the whole male bonding thing back in school. Perhaps some of us were less athletic in our youth, and ended up being the proverbial last kid that's picked for a team; ergo, the lifelong aversion to team sports.
