Life, Death, Sex, and Shopping. What Boomers and Seniors Believe.^©

For Immediate Release: January 11, 2007
Media Contact: Jacob Brown
Phone: (415)-366-7270
Email: jacob@50PlusResearch.com

»View the PDF file of this document (complete with charts).

San Francisco, California

Key Findings

Perceptions of Health

Most of us think of aging and poor health going together. But surprisingly, the older you get, the healthier you think you are.

• Seniors
  • Seniors tend to minimize their own health problems – but take their spouse’s health problems seriously.
  • 38% think of themselves as “Much Healthier” than most people their age.
  • But only 23% think their spouse/partner is “Much Healthier” than most people their age.
• Boomers
  • Boomers have a much more balanced perception of their own health and the health of their spouses
  • 20% thing they’re “Much Healthier” than people their age – and 20% thing they’re spouses are “Much Healthier”

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Thoughts of Death

It is a common assumption that as we age we become more conscious of our own mortality. And yet as we age, we don’t seem to think more about our own death.

• Boomers and Seniors seem to think about their death, and the death of their spouse/partner, with roughly equal frequency.
• Dwelling on our own death is a personality trait, not a characteristic of age.

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Concerns over Aging

The nature of our worries shift with time.

• Boomers: When Boomers look toward getting old, they worry about having enough money.
• Seniors: As Seniors look to the future, they are most concerned with maintaining their physical health, mental abilities health and independence.

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Spiritual Life

Our belief in God develops early in life and doesn’t appear to change substantially with age.

We generally don’t “find God” in our 50’s. Instead, we bring our connection, or lack of connection, with a spiritual life with us as we become boomers.

Both Boomers and Seniors:

• Have a strong belief in God
• Believe in heaven
• Feel confident they’re going to heaven

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Stress

As you age, your life becomes less stressful.

• Boomers: 40% report high stress levels
• Seniors: Only 24% of the older group feels badly stressed

And the causes of stress change as we age.

• Boomers & Seniors: Both groups are very concerned with money
• Boomers: 15% feel their biggest source of stress comes from health concerns
• Seniors: 33% of their biggest source of stress comes from health concerns

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Sexuality

The good news is that we are more likely to be happy with our sex lives as we age.

The bad news is that a substantial percentage of us are unhappy with our sex lives – regardless of our age.

• Boomers: About a third are very happy and about a third are very unhappy with the amount of sex they’re having.
• Seniors: 28% still want a lot more sex than they’re having

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Shopping

Boomers and Seniors have VERY similar attitudes toward shopping online.

Both Boomers & Seniors

• Concerned about giving their credit card information online
• Like shopping online because they don’t have to leave the house
• Hate the crowds when they shop at the mall

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Personal Pleasures

We often comment on how everything in our society is about sex. It turns out that everything should really be about chocolate

Chocolate is really important, sex is a couple of steps down.

• Boomers
  • 16% said sex would be the hardest thing to give up.
  • 19% said chocolate would be the hardest thing.
• Seniors
  • 10% said sex would be the hardest thing to give up.
  • 20% saying that chocolate would be the hardest thing to give up.
• Men vs. Women
  • 24% of the men said sex would be the hardest to give up
  • 3% of the women thought sex would be the hardest to give up

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About 50Plus Research

50Plus Research conducts strategic market research studies for companies serving the Baby Boomer and Senior markets.

About the Survey

The study was designed to provide a broad overview of Baby Boomer and Senior attitudes and beliefs.

Methodology

• A total of 522 respondents participated in the online survey
• Respondents recruited using Survey Sampling’s SurveySpot consumer panel
• All participants were between the ages of 45 – 80
• The survey was conducted during December 2006

Contact

For more information on the on-going debate of chocolate vs. sex -- contact Jacob Brown jacob@50PlusResearch.com or (415) 789-1042.

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50PLUS MARKET RESEARCH, 2090 Vistazo East, Tiburon CA 94920
(415) 789-1042 Phone
(415) 789-0366 Fax
jacob@50plusresearch.com