Welcome to your weekly Boomer Women Inspiration Series

Chapter Four - Decision Making: We hope you enjoyed last week's immersion into the world of influences and media sources for our Boomer Women. It neatly laid the foundation for us to probe more deeply in Week Four into how they make decisions, including meatier questions such as: What does it mean to earn their trust? What processes make them feel comfortable and confident with big decisions? And, what gaps might exist in their ideal decision-making approaches?

To get the ball rolling, let's start by lifting the lid on their perceived use of media throughout a typical day.

AM: Phones and on-going communication are as important to our Boomer Women as seen in other cohorts. They start their day checking in on messages from friends and family, and browsing social media. However, getting up to speed on the news first thing is important for most, either with the radio or TV running the background as they go about preparing for their day.

Daytime: News apps are popular throughout the day in order to keep abreast of anything that might develop. But we start to see the growing role of social media and in particular how it relates to their hobbies and interests. They dip in and out more frequently across platforms, and are conscious of keeping up to date with their messages, too.

PM: The biggest shift we see in the day comes in the evening, when there is a notable move towards focusing on hobbies and interests, alongside winding down with easy viewing on TV. YouTube, online forums and social media groups related to their hobbies are popular browsing activities as their day draws to a close.

" I have joined Facebook groups recently that are focussed on the brand of car I have just bought to pick up tips about it. For a long time I have been a member of local Facebook groups focussing on my area, so I pick up what is happening locally." - Tania, 57-66, Married, Part-time Employed

"The News often has a profound affect on me and I have to take a break every now and again as it will be one awful story after another. It seems lately that my tolernce for News is much less than in days gone by. I'm not sure why but I have to take frequent breaks from it." - Pat, 67-77, Divorced, Self-Employed

"After looking at Facebook again because of messages from friends that had "pinged" on my phone I ended up scrolling for a while. Again Facebook became addictive and I ended up looking at it for at least an hour! Facebook knows how to draw you in!." - Liz, 57-66, Married, Part-time Employed

Respected experts in their fields who have a history of fighting for a cause garner trust

Individuals, such as Martin Lewis or respected journalists, garner the most trust, alongside established brands. Establishing trust is rooted in building reputations for being impartial - other examples include Which, Greenpeace and Amnesty International. Boomer Women value experts and put their faith in those that have committed years to advocating for a particular cause. Alongside this, these sources have provided evidence of placing tangible actions behind their words.

"[Martin Lewis] lobbies and campaigns against injustices and poverty, with fantastic results. He manages to connect with ordinary people by using layman's language, without preaching, and by pushing people towards helpful solutions." - Emma, 57-66, Married, Retired

"I trust people individually whom I know have a good reputation rather than large organisations which is very impersonal and I feel one needs a specific person who will have the expert knowledge rather than lots of unknown people within a company. I prefer specialised experts personally to advise me on certain things." - Elaine, 67-77, Divorced, Part-time Employed

A history of unverified or poorly vetted 'sources' is an immediate red flag when it comes to creating trust with evidence-led Boomer Women

Whilst it is felt that trust in the news in general has declined over time - due to the proliferation of media that needs to be vetted across so many platforms - the lack of sited, credible sources on social media or behind many of the 'tabloid' newspapers sets off alarm bells for Boomer Women.

"I feel like news brands like, The Sun, Fox News and other such news sites are very known for giving misinformation about things. Even Social media, like Facebook can be less trustworthy sometimes because of the kind of information shared. They are known for a history of promoting conspiracy theories and false information." - Sandhya, 57-66, Co-habiting, Part-time Employed

"I don't trust information on social media. There are insufficent checks and balances on anything being published. I have stopped reading some blogs which I feel spread disinformation." - Mary, 67-77, Single, Retired

Boomer Women take time to make decisions, and trust a process

Exposure to media, and knowing who to trust, all form important parts of decision-making processes for our Boomer Women. They shared many intimate stories with us of how they approach important moments in their lives - from down-sizing, to evaluating cancer treatment options, to moving forward after divorce, to considering retirement investment options - and through them all, we saw many similarities in how they go about them:

As discussed throughout this newsletter, our women place great emphasis on the inputs in their lives, and vetting these as tried and trusted sources. Whether that's friends and family, relevant experts, or even those in the media, they regard themselves as a considered generation.

"Before making big decisions I think it is important not to be too hasty and to spend time discussing with close family and, if relevant, good friends too. This lets you see any problems and gives you different viewpoints/opinions - allowing thinking time to weigh up any advantages or disadvantages.

I like to prioritise and set aside time before researching information. I write lists and then take thinking time before deciding. Taking a few days to work out in my mind and feel happy is my best way to move forward." - Liz, 57-66, Married, Part-time Employed

Charities have a vital role to play in this space when it comes to offering exposure to those with lived experience of a specific challenge:

"I spoke with people I know who are clinically trained and sought advice from my daughter who worked at a private hospital about the route to obtaining private scans. I also consulted Macmillan via their website and online community about the different options available. The people with lived experience were an incredible source of knowledge and support." - Kim, 57-66, Divorced, Full-time Employed

"It was important to me that I gave my mum the best final years of her life and I sought advice from friends, family and the Care Home UK, Age UK, the Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK websites and advisors. I spoke to her care agency and doctor, dementia navigators, specialist nurses and other people who had made the same decision for their parents. I spent a lot of time weighing up the options and thinking about the consequences of the decision." - Carmel, 57-66, Married, Part-time Employed

In fact, their biggest fear around making potentially life-altering decisions is not having sufficient time to carry out due process:

"I wish I would have taken more time. I regret rushing into it and not listening to everything that everyone one was advising. But too many people were giving conflicting opinions" - Tracy, 57-66, Co-habiting, Part-time Employed

A Good Conversation Thought Starter

Lastly, our Charity Thought Starter. This is a small seed of an idea that we've stumbled upon that might have the potential to turn into something bigger down the line. It's something we'll be keeping our eye on throughout the remainder of the community to track its development, but wanted to share it with you now to mull over.

This week's seed is: Making important life-decisions is exhausting, and Boomer Women can face a lot of them in a short space of time.