Tell Us About You! Survey Results

Smart girls decide for themselves.™

In September, SmartGirl asked you about you.  Where do you live? What is your favorite book, your favorite musical group, your favorite ice cream, and more?  Over three hundred people responded (including 10 boys).  The results show a diverse group of people (mostly girls) from around the world visiting the SmartGirl website and the many choices available for girls today.  People from age 9 to over 36 responded to the survey.  But the average age of respondents was 15.  Here are the results of the survey:

Where You Live

SmartGirl asked, "What country do you live in?" Respondents were from fourteen different countries.

Figure 1.1

Other respondents lived in such varied locations as Israel, Singapore, Pakistan and Vietnam.  Within the US, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, respondents were from nearly every state, province or region.

SmartGirl asked, "What's one thing you love about where you live?"  and "What's one thing you would like to change about where you live?"  What some people thought needed improvement in their town, others cited as the reason they love their hometown.  For example, some people thought more snow would improve their location, others wanted more sun and warmth and one respondent loved the unpredictable weather in her city.  Some people loved being in a small town, others hated it.  Some people liked a lot of things to do; others liked quiet and lots of space.  Here are some of the results:

To improve their town,

Here are some quotes from respondents:

• "I live in a very small town, where everyone knows everyone.  We get along and help each other.  It is very safe and quiet, but we also know how to have fun."
 
• "There's a lot to do when you are with your friends. I am 10 minutes from the city centre, a fast food chain is around the corner from my neighbourhood with an arcade and a bowling alley, there's a stadium down the road and a lot of my friends live nearby. Yet this is one of the quietest areas around the city."
 
• "I love how it has perfect weather for each season"
 
• "I love all the people."
 
• "It's clean and quiet."
 
• "I love the stars.  They are so bright here."
 
• "The diversity! Asheville is a great little hippie town...with so much art and music and spirituality and culture and LIFE!!  There are so many different types of people; it's amazing!"
 
• "I like it the way it is."
 
• "I want it to snow more."
 
• "I wish it were hotter and sunnier!"
 
• "Probably the fact that there isn't a lot to do for kids my age to do except school-related activities. When I'm not doing something to do with school, I'm usually just hanging out at the park. That gets a bit boring after a while."
 
• "I would love to get more things to do around it.  There are only a gas station, a deli, a diner, and a tavern.  We need stuff to do without having to go 40 minutes away."
 
• "One thing that I would like to change about where I live is all of the stereotypes that people have against one another. My hometown may have a variety of different cultures that get along quite well, but there are still stereotypes about the cultures. I just wish everyone could learn to get along and drop the stereotypes they have against people of other cultures because, if this happened, I know our town would be much better off."
 
• "I’d change nothing.  The way it is, is the way it is.  That's what makes it New York, New York and that’s what makes me love it. Even all the weird and wrong things that go on."

What You Eat

SmartGirl asked two questions about dinner:  "What is your favorite main dish for dinner?" and "What is your least favorite main dish for dinner?"  Respondent's meal choices were as varied as their environments.  What some people loved, others hated.  Pasta (including lasagna) was the winner in the favorite dinner category with 28% of the vote. Fish was the least favorite meal choice with 18% of the vote for what you dislike.   15% of respondents dislike more than anything a particular vegetable--everything from spinach to brussel sprouts to carrots.  Here are the numbers for some of the most mentioned meals:                                                                               

SmartGirl asked, " What is your favorite ice cream flavor?"  Your favorites included everything from sherbet to bubblegum to pralines and cream.  Here the top three SmartGirl picks:

17% chose chocolate.
13% chose mint chocolate chip.
10% chose vanilla.

How You Look

80% of respondents have pierced ears.

SmartGirl asked, "What is your favorite clothing color?"  The top three colors were:

Blue 36%
Pink 14%
Black 13%

What you like to do

SmartGirl asked, " What is your favorite activity/sport?"  You said,

13% said swimming
11% said basketball
8% said cheerleading
8% said dance squad
7% said volleyball
6% said tennis
The remaining categories had less than 5% of the respondents.

SmartGirl asked, "What do you like to do on the weekends?"  You said,

You like to spend time with your friends (36%).
You like to shop (11%)
You like to catch up on sleep (8%)
Others like to go read, participate in various sports, watch movies, dance and surf the Internet.

Other Favorites

SmartGirl asked, "Who is your favorite musician or group?"  You mentioned 125 different groups or singers including Eminem, Roger and Hamerstein, Bob Marley, and Faith Hill.  Your choices varied so much that there was no one overwhelming favorite.  Your top 3 choices were:

Destiny's Child (9%)
N Sync (7%)
Blink 182 (3.5%)

SmartGirl asked, " What are your favorite books?"  127 different books were listed.  Authors ranged from Jane Austen to John Grisham to Laura Ingalls Wilder to Shakespeare to Jacqueline Wilson.  Here are the 3 most popular books:

Harry Potter (12%)
To Kill a Mockingbird  (4%)
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul (2%)
Unfortunately (SmartGirl editorial comment!), 6 % said you don't like to read.

SmartGirl asked, " What is your favorite television show?"  111 television shows were listed.  Here are the top 3 SmartGirl picks:

Friends  (11%)
The Simpsons (4%)
7^th Heaven  (4%)

SmartGirl asked, " Who is your favorite politician?"  38% of respondents do not follow politics or care for politicians.  But, of those respondents who did name a politician, a wide variety of names were mentioned; many were local politicians.  The most common choices were the top leaders of the countries where most respondents lived--George Bush, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Tony Blair.  Those respondents who are aware of what's happening politically, made their choices for favorite politicians for some good reasons, including:  "The politician’s views are the same as mine." And the politician is intelligent or Christian or environmentally concerned or a “leader.”

SmartGirls’ quotes about their favorite politicians:

• "George W. Bush - he is a republican!  And he is like us and knows what is like to live like we do!"
 
• "Al Gore - I like what his values are and what he can do for our country even though he wasn’t elected"
 
• "Mayor Lee Clancy (Mayor of Cedar Rapids Iowa)- Most of them are a bunch of losers, but Mayor Lee Clancy is a good role model (especially for girls) she leads this City well. She was also the first woman Mayor of Cedar Rapids."
 
• "I hate politics - b/c I don’t follow them, I don’t understand them, and I really don’t care about them."
 
• "Rudy Giuliani - I am not from New York City but I really like the way he handles all the recent tragic events and everything that goes on in New York City."
 
• "Tony Blair - He is truthful and full of honesty and never breaks a promise."
 
• "Ralph Nader - I'm a green party member and care about the environment"
 
• "Senator Natasha Stott Despoja - She's the youngest person to ever be elected to the Australian senate at 26, she's now in her early 30's and is the leader of the Australian Democrats. She's young, funky, and has good ideas for the future of my country."

 SmartGirl asked, " What is your favorite subject in school?"  You said:

The bars represent the actual number of responses from the 347 respondents.