Non-Mexican Hispanic Groups Are Growing in U.S.

Posted on March 27, 2013

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

WHILE MEXICANS ARE 60% OF U.S. HISPANIC POPULATION, NEW LATINO GROUPS ARE GROWING FASTER

Source: Hispanics in the United States: Not Only Mexicans. US2010: Discover America in a New Century. Published by US2010 Project, sponsored by Russell Sage Foundation and American Communities Project of Brown University, March 2013

Representative findings:

  • In 2010, Hispanics represented 11.8% of all native born U.S. citizens but 22.1% of those under age 18.
  • In 1990, only Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans each included more than one million members. By 2010, Dominicans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans also each numbered more than a million.
  • As a group, New Latinos (Dominicans, Central and South Americans) are growing faster than Mexicans. The latter group grew 137% over two decades.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends.
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to benefit from reported trends?

Background info on this study:

Analysis of data from U.S. Census and Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS).

Survey report

http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/Data/Report/report03202013.pdf

 

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U.S. immigrant population tops 40 million

Posted on February 5, 2013

 

IMMIGRANT POPULATION, BOTH LEGAL AND UNAUTHORIZED, EQUALS 13% OF U.S. POPULATION, ACCORDING TO RECENT STATISTICAL PORTRAIT.

Source:  A Nation of Immigrants. Pew Hispanic Center, January 29, 2013

 

Representative findings:

  • U.S. has 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants.
  • Surveys show that immigration policy is not a top priority for the U.S. public or for Hispanics specifically.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends.
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to benefit from reported trends?
  • Interview with immigrant employee or customer.

Background info on this study:

U.S. census and survey data compiled and analyzed by the Pew Hispanic Center.

 

Report: A  Nation of Immigrants

 

Copyright 2013, Diana Schneidman.

 

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Binge drinking is a serious health problem for women

Posted on January 16, 2013

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

ABOUT 23,000 FEMALES DIE ANNUALLY FROM OVERCONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL

Source:  National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Representative findings:

  • Approximately one in eight women ages 18 and older binge drink, and the problem is even more acute among high school girls.
  • Binge drinking is most common among high school girls and women aged 18 to 34; whites and Hispanics; and women with household incomes over $75,000.
  • Injuries, violence and chronic disease are among the health risks associated with binge drinking.
  • Binge drinking for women is defined as four or more alcohol drinks on an occasion.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends
  • Advice for improving health
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to react to or reverse the reported trend?
  • Case studies or representative stories about how women or girls have addressed problems with binge drinking.

Background info on this study:

Report from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion published as CDC Vitalsigns, January 2013

 

Survey report:  Link

 

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FINANCIAL AWARENESS PROTECTS THE AGING FROM FRAUD

Posted on November 30, 2012

 

SUMMARY: A decrease in cognition increases overconfidence in one’s financial knowledge, and overconfidence makes older American more susceptible to fraud.

Source: Social Science Research Network, October 22, 2012

 

Representative findings:

  • Decreases in cognition are associated with declines in financial literacy and increased overconfidence, but individuals do not recognize this decline.
  • Those who experience a decline in cognitive abilities are somewhat more likely to get help with financial decision making but not as much as they should be.
  • With the growth in defined contribution benefit plans and the decline in defined benefit plans, Americans will be more responsible for managing their own financial well-being in retirement.

 

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends
  • Does your company’s or industry’s experience differ from these broad trends? Or more likely, does it reflect these same trends?
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to synchronize with reported trends?
  • Case studies or representative stories about how mature adults have planned for and implemented successful retirements in light of study’s findings.
  • How are your employees preparing for retirement?

Background info on this study:

Study based on longitudinal data, including financial literacy testing, of aging individuals participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project.

 

Survey report: SSRN

 

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MORE WORKING HOUSEHOLDS AT RISK OF FINANCIAL SHORTFALL IN RETIREMENT

Posted on November 8, 2012

 

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

BETWEEN 2007 AND 2010, THE PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS AT RISK OF BEING UNABLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR PRE-RETIREMENT STANDARD OF LIVING WHILE IN RETIREMENT INCREASED FROM 44% TO 53%

Source: The National Retirement Risk Index, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, October 2012

Representative findings:

  • Between 2007 and 2010, Americans’ retirement preparedness declined due to the bursting of the housing bubble, lower interest rates, an increase in Social Security’s Full Retirement Age, and low stock prices.
  • More than half of U.S. households will have insufficient retirement income to maintain their standard of living, even if they work till age 65 and annuitize all their financial assets.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends
  • Does your company’s or industry’s experience differ from these broad trends? Or more likely, does it reflect these same trends?
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to benefit from reported trends?
  • Case studies or representative stories about how mature adults have planned for and implemented successful retirements.
  • How are your employees preparing for retirement?

Background info on this study:

Calculations by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, based on the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances.

Report: The National Retirement Risk Index: An Update

 

 

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BOOMERS STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY AFTER GREAT RECESSION

Posted on October 12, 2012

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

OLDER BOOMERS WERE SEVERELY IMPACTED BY THE RECESSION AND ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT THEIR FINANCIAL PROSPECTS IN RETIREMENT.

Source: Boomers and the Great Recession: Struggling to Recover, AARP Public Policy Institute, September 2012

Representative findings:

  • Two-fifths of reporting boomers changed the date at which they expect to retire fully, with more than four-fifths of this subgroup planning a later retirement rather than an earlier one.
  • About one-third to one-half of boomers who tried to get employment believe that age discrimination was a barrier to their success.
  • More than half said they were less confident in their financial resources for a comfortable retirement than they had been before the recession.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends
  • How can your company help boomers prepare for retirement?
  • Does the experience of boomers in your company or industry differ from the broad trends in this report? Or more likely, does it reflect these same trends?
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to benefit from reported trends?
  • Case studies or representative stories about how boomers have experienced and resolved the issues indicated in this study . . or how your company can assist them with these issues.

Background info on this study:

Two online surveys: First survey in October 2010 interviewed 5,027 current or recent workers and jobseekers aged 50 and over. An August 2011 survey sampled 1,304 of the original respondents.

Link to PDF report: LINK

 

Copyright 2012, Diana Schneidman.

 

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MAJORITY OF MOBILE PHONE APP USERS HAVE NOT INSTALLED OR HAVE UNINSTALLED AN APP DUE TO PRIVACY CONCERNS

Posted on September 11, 2012

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

OF THE 38% OF THE ADULT POPULATION WHO DOWNLOAD CELL PHONE APPLICATIIONS, 54% HAVE DECIDED NOT TO INSTALL A CELL PHONE APP BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THEY WOULD NEED TO SHARE AND 30% HAVE UNINSTALLED AN APP FOR REASONS RELATED TO PERSONAL PRIVACY.

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, September 5, 2012

Representative findings:

  • 19% of cell phone owners have turned off the location tracking feature on their phone.
  • 15% of smartphone owners report that someone has accessed their phone in a way that felt like a privacy intrusion.
  • One-third of smartphone owners have had a phone lost or stolen.
  • Almost half of cell phone owners back up their phone files in case their phones are lost or stolen.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends
  • Does your company or industry offer an app that requires personal information? Is this impacting the app’s acceptance?
  • Are your employees (or customers) backing up phone files? Can you provide them with information to help them use their phones more safely and more effectively?

Background info on this study:

A national survey of 2,254 adults ages 18 and older conducted in English and Spanish on landline and cell phones between March 15 and April 3, 2012.

Survey report: http://fulltextreports.com/2012/09/07/longevity-risk-and-insurance-solutions-for-u-s-corporate-pension-plans/

 

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TOBACCO USE AMONG MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IS DROPPING

Posted on August 23, 2012

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

TOBACCO USE AMONG MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DECLINED FROM 2000 TO 2011

Source:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 10, 2012

Representative findings:

  • 7.1% of middle school students and 23.2% of high school students were using tobacco products as of 2011.
  • Almost 90% of adult smokers begin smoking by the age of 18.
  • Tobacco usage is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S.
  • The CDC recommends the continuation of programs that discourage tobacco usage among students.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends
  • How is your company or industry affected by reported trends?
  • Case studies or representative stories about anti-tobacco efforts or about smoking cessation efforts. Story about an employee who started smoking when young and how he / she eventually quit smoking.
  • How do your employees prevent their children from using tobacco? How do adults quit smoking?

Background info on this study:

Analysis of data from the 2011 National Youth Tobacco Study.  Study is a school-based, pencil-and-paper questionnaire administered to students, with a sample representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

 

Survey report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6131a1.htm

 

Copyright 2012, Diana Schneidman.

 

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THE SHARE OF U.S. ADULTS USING TWITTER CONTINUES TO GROW, WITH SOME DEMOGRAPHICS BEING ESPECIALLY HEAVY USERS

Posted on August 9, 2012

 

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS ARE ESPECIALLY LIKELY TO USE TWITTER: AFRICAN-AMERICANS, YOUNG ADULTS, AND URBAN AND SUBURBAN POPULATIONS.

Source:  Pew Research Center, reported May 31, 2012

 

Representative findings:

  • 15% of online adults age 18 and older use Twitter, with 8% using it on a typical day.
  • The percentage of online adults using Twitter has quadrupled since late 2010.
  • More than one-fourth of African-American internet users are on Twitter, more than twice the percentage of White users.

 

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends.
  • Do your company’s or industry’s Twitter followers reflect these broad trends? (Do you know?)
  • How is your company or industry positioning itself to benefit from these trends?
  • Stories from your company’s Twitter experience that illustrate these trends.

Here’s how I used this information to write an original article:

I wrote about this study in my other blog at StandUp8Times, where I help people develop freelance and consulting practices.  Feel free to comment on the Pew Research Center findings there.

 

Background info on this study:

Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Winter 2012 Tracking survey of 2,253 adults age 18 and older, including 901 cell phone interviews, supplemented with additional survey research.

 

Survey report:  http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Twitter-Use-2012.aspx

Copyright 2012, Diana Schneidman.

 

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MAJORITY OF WOMEN SAY TROUBLED ECONOMY HAS SEVERELY IMPACTED THEM

Posted on July 30, 2012

Today’s content concept from Diana Schneidman of DianaWrites:

THE MAJORITY OF BOTH WOMEN AND MEN REPORT THEY HAVE LOST ECONOMIC GROUND, BUT THE IMPACT HAS BEEN MORE SEVERE FOR WOMEN.

Source:  Prudential’s 7th biennial study on the Financial Experience and Behaviors Among Women, 2012-2013.

Representative findings:

  • 53% of women, including single, married, or with a partner, are primary breadwinners. Almost one-fourth of those living with a partner make more money than the partner.
  • Only one-tenth of female breadwinners claim they are very knowledgeable about financial products and services.
  • Women are more risk averse then men. Seven out of 10 women want to invest only in guaranteed or FDIC-insured products.
  • Two-thirds of women are not working with a financial professional, primarily because of the perceived expense.

Article angles:

  • Summarize and report the trends.
  • Does your company’s experience differ from these broad trends? Or more likely, does it reflect these same trends?
  • How is your company positioning itself to benefit from reported trends?
  • Case studies or representative stories about how women have improved their retirement planning and financial preparation.

Background info on this study:

Poll of 1,410 American women and 604 American men between the ages of 25 and 68 who are panelists in the Harris Interactive Poll Online.

Survey report: http://www.prudential.com/media/managed/Pru_Women_Study.pdf

 

Copyright 2012, Diana Schneidman.

 

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