Young adult 18 to 34 years life stage

The young adult life stage consists of two cohorts:

• 18 to 24 years
• 25 to 34 years

Young adult 18 to 24 years

This life stage sees increased independence and transitions such as finishing school, starting study, working full time and leaving home. These transitions can impact activity choices and should be considered in sport participation offerings.

Life-stages-snapshot_18-24-years.pdf

Insights to help attract and retain participants

Active 18-24 year olds

Most active 18-24 year olds play sport and do other physical activities.

They are doing slightly less sessions and activities than active 15-17 year olds, but they significantly exceed the physical activity guidelines and see physical activity as a critical part of their routine.

871,000 people

37% of 18-24 year olds

8 Average number of sessions per week

2.9 Average number of different activities

Characteristics

• Driven by fun and enjoyment, the thrill of competition and the will to win
• Likely to be active as children and enjoy staying involved in sport and physical activity
• Motivated to be more physically active and fit for themselves
• See the benefits of good mental health, positive body image and good physical health to prevent illness
• Consider their daily or weekly sport and physical activity routine as critical and 'must-do.

While these active young adults already love their sport, it’s important for organisations to adapt their offerings to keep this group engaged.

Insights to help retain participants and keep people active

Insufficiently active 18-24 year olds

Insufficiently active 18-24 year olds are more likely to stick to either sport or physical activity.

They are developing other interests, which they feel are more important than being active every day. They are capable of doing more, but are choosing not to. Sport and physical activity are less likely to be part of their daily or weekly routine.

1.03 million people

54% of 18-24 year olds

2.5 Average number of sessions per week

2 Average number of different activities

Characteristics

• Claimed that time and money were their two biggest barriers
• Admitted their true barrier was a lack of motivation
• Said the sport offer didn’t meet their needs i.e. unclear pathways, not offered at the right time and focused on performance
• Less free time and too busy when they start a family.

Making participation fun and easy promoting the health benefits could increase the motivation of this group to prioritise sport and make it part of their routine. They often refer to being too busy to be active, but an experience that delivers on what they need can make them re-evaluate its importance.

Insights to help acquire and retain participants and get people more active

Inactive 18-24 year olds

Inactive populations are not playing sport or staying physically active. Their interest in getting more active is low and they often identify significant barriers to getting active.

In this life stage, inactivity is more prevalent for people with disability and people who speak a language other than English at home.

222,000 people

9% of 18-24 year olds

Characteristics

• Lack of motivation
• Reduced free time and busy after having a family
• Feel they would have to sacrifice personal time to exercise
• Consider the cost of gyms and organised sport as a major barrier (particularly relevant for women).

Insights to help understand the barriers to participation for inactive people

Insights to help attract and retain participants

Adult 25 to 35 years

As career and parental responsibilities increase, commitment to organised sport and physical activity levels decline slightly.

Life-stages-snapshot_25-34-years.pdf

Insights to help attract and retain participants

Active 25-34 year olds

While life can change significantly during this stage, those who are active maintain their activity level and consider it a ‘must-do’ in their daily routine.

They are twice as likely to participate in both sport and physical activity.

1.3 million people

35% of 25-34 year olds

8 Average number of sessions per week

3 Average number of different activities

Characteristics

• Active as children and enjoy staying involved
• Motivated to be more physically active and fit for themselves
• Driven by fun and enjoyment, thrill of competition and will to win
• Want to be a good role model and promote the principles of a healthy and active lifestyle to their children
• See the benefits of good mental health, positive body image and good physical health to prevent illness
• Consider their daily or weekly physical activity routine to be critical and 'must-do'.

Sport is really important for this group, but it is a critical life stage where transition away from team sports can start. Sporting organisations need to think about how to keep this group participating for longer or keep them connected if they take up individual pursuits.

Insights to help retain participants and keep people active

Insufficiently active 25-34 year olds

At this life stage, many people place less importance on sport and physical activity due to other priorities such as starting a family and/or establishing a career.

Although it's not part of their daily routine, they tend to participate a couple of times a week. They are more likely to play either sport or physical activity, not both.

2.06 million people

55% of 25-34 year olds

2.5 Average number of sessions per week

2.1 Average number of different activities

Characteristics

• Claimed that time and money are their two biggest barriers
• Admitted their true barrier is a lack of motivation
• Sport offer doesn't meet their needs i.e. unclear pathways, not offered at the right time and focused on performance
• Less free time and are too busy when they start a family
• Focused on work and career and feel they are unable to make a firm commitment to turning up to every game and training and don’t want to let the team down
• Less likely to have a daily or weekly physical activity routine.

Making participation fun and easy and promoting the health benefits could increase the motivation of this group to prioritise sport in their routine. They often say they are too busy to be active, but the right experience could make them re-evaluate the importance of sport and physical activity.

Insights to help acquire and retain participants and get people more active

Inactive 25-34 year olds

Inactive populations are not playing sport or staying physically active. Their interest in getting more active is low or they identify significant barriers to getting active.

In this life stage, inactivity is more prevalent for people with disability and people who speak a language other than English at home.

363,000 people

10% of 25-34 year olds

Characteristics

• Lack motivation
• Less free time and/or busy after having a family
• Parents are less likely to recognise the role they play in how physically active their children are
• Feel they would have to sacrifice personal time to exercise
• Consider the cost of gyms and organised sport a major barrier (particularly relevant for women).

The life stages resource uses 2019 data from AusPlay; the Australian sport and physical activity participation survey.