TREND WATCH

SNAGs and YEEPIEs
Are Coming to Town

BY ELLEN O'SULLIVAN, Ph.D., CLP

Move over yuppies and make room for these emerging lifestyle groups: SNAGs (sensitive new age guys), YEEPIES
(young, energetic elderly into everything), and MOSSs (moderately over-stressed suburbanites).

PSYCHOGRAPHIC/LIFESTYLE CHOICES

Make way for the "cultural creatives," an emerging lifestyle group that consists of nearly one-fourth or 44 million Americans. This group believes in environmentalism, feminism, global issues, and spiritual searching. They represent the leading edge of behavior change and are of particular interest to parks and recreation because they seek community involvement, authentic "experiences," and adventuresome, genuine, altruistic, and spiritual vacation travel. (American Demographics)

Other lifestyle groups identified in the study include "heartlanders," the 29% of Americans who maintain the traditional beliefs of small towns and strong churches, and "modernists," the 47% of the population who place a high value on success and consumerism. (American Demographics)

A recent study conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide for Hyatt Hotels revealed four behavioral categories of business travelers: globetrotter, smooth sailor, world weary, or torn traveler. The greatest determinant of a person's profile as a business traveler was family status. Younger travelers with children at home felt the most pressure on the road while older travelers without the home responsibilities experienced a pleasant change of pace.

Make way for new lifestyle groups including SNAGS (sensitive, new-age guys), ILYAs (incompletely launched young adults), MOSSs(moderately over-stressed suburbanites), and YEEPIES (young, energetic elderly into everything).

PATTERNS & PREFERENCES

The 109,353 liposuctions performed in 1996 make it the most popular cosmetic procedure in the United States with people ages 35 to 50 accounting for 48% of these procedures, followed by ages 19 to 34 at 35%. (American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons)

Thirty-one percent of Americans have a designated room in their home used as an office away from the workplace. (Wirthlin Worldwide)

Cyber-differences show up when comparing ages of people using different online options. As might be expected 36% of the online "chat room users" are between ages 18 and 34, compared with fewer than 20% for ages 35 to 54. Ages 45 to 64 are more likely to use e-mail and bulletin boards. (American Demographics)

The 1996 Children's Health Index reveals that 42% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke at home and 20% of them are overweight. Guns, in-line skating without helmets, and drunken driving by teenagers, remain risks for children. (Prevention)

RECREATION RESEARCH

The National Survey on Recreation and the Environment reported the following:

Males are more involved than females in outdoor recreation at a ration of 2 to 1

Viewing, photographing, learning about nature and history attract more than 150 million people per year

Land-based participation trends include winners and losers when examining changes from 1982 to 1995. The big winners in percentage change are: bird watching (+155.2%), hiking (+93.5%), backpacking (+72.7%), primitive camping (+58.2%), and attending an outdoor concert or play (+54.7%). Activities experiencing decline include: tennis (-29.3%), hunting (-12.3%), horseback riding (-10.1%).

Almost all Americans take advantage of the outdoors. The most popular activities are low cost, require little skill development, and often occur near home.

Long-term trends for traditional activities showed moderate growth while greater growth was projected in new activities that incorporate risk taking and technological innovations.

PLAYING, AROUND WITH PSYCHOGRAPHICS

Take a look around your community and see what emerging or increasing lifestyle groups you can identify. Are there any ILYAs or "cultural creatives" residing near you and if so, what are some of the ways you may want to modify programs and services to meet their needs?

EllEN O'SULUVAN, Ph.D. CLP
is the president of Leisure lifestyle Consulting or Glastonbury, Conn., specializing in support lor the service industry in reaching and retaining customers through leisure experiences ond lifestyle connections. Comments about Trend Watch? Write to TW / IAPD, 211 E. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62701, iapd@ eosinc.com.

September/October 1997 / 51