Assumptions can be useful shortcuts to help us. One, partially confirmed by ChatGPT, with the caveat that the assumption does not apply universally, is that the higher a person’s education level, the more careful they are of their skincare.
During the November 2023 to February 2024 period, the Australian Bureau of Statistics surveyed 8,595 Australians aged 15 years and older about their sun protection behaviour. The Bureau noted that sun protection behaviours are needed because while ultraviolet radiation from the sun is a beneficial source of vitamin D, it is also the major cause of skin cancer in Australia. If assumptions hold, then regional differences aside, the assumption could be made that higher educated people generally would be more careful about sun protection.
Yet as the graph below shows, education levels appear to make little difference on Australians’ sun protection use when they were last out in the summer sun.
Thus, as we start planning the new year, it may strengthen that planning if we ensure the assumptions underlying those plans are evidentially based. If market research can help clarify the evidence behind the assumptions, please contact me. We look forward to helping you strengthen your new year’s strategy planning.
