Cancer Council Australia poll reveals generation gaps in sun-safe behaviour

Résumé détaillé

Nearly half of Australians still don’t understand how to best protect themselves from the dangers of sun exposure, a new study has found.

Nearly half of Australians still don’t understand how to best protect themselves from the dangers of sun exposure, a new study has found.

New data released by Cancer Council Australia two weeks before summer’s official start shows that 48 per cent of Australians report only limited understanding of sun-safe behaviour.

But their gaps in understanding differ depending on which generation researchers spoke to.

Younger people were more likely to use sunscreen than older generations, though Gen Z — aged between 16 and 30 — were the most likely to report pressure to have a suntan.

More than one in four — or 27 per cent — said influencer suntanning content made them want a tan, and 26 per cent said they feel pressure from friends, family or social media to have a tan during the warmer months.

But they were also the most likely of the generations to say they had become more deliberate about sun protection over the past year, with 55 per cent of Gen Z agreeing with the statement.

Millennials, now aged around 31 to 45 years old, were the most likely to look for scientific evidence or research when checking sunscreen or sun protection information online.

Nearly 40 per cent of Millennials said they looked for hard evidence, compared with 26 per cent of Gen X (aged between 46 and 60) and 27 per cent of Baby Boomers (61 to 80 years old).

But only 11 per cent of Millennials had a strong understanding of the UV Index compared with 23 per cent of Gen Z and 19 per cent of Gen X.

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