An interactive field guide to sun protection
What shapes whether sun protection fits into a day outdoors?
A survey of 7,599 U.S. adults offers a starting point: what people believe, how often they report using sunscreen, and which practical concerns matter to them.
The beach is an illustrated setting. The survey was not limited to beachgoers.
Step onto the beachA 5-minute story. Scroll, make a guess, explore.
Before we look at the data
Imagine adults who recognize the long-term harm of sunburn. What percentage use sunscreen on their face most of the time or always?
Make a guess, then compare it with the survey. Your answer stays on this page and is not collected.
Drag the sun to make your guess.
One survey. Five ways into the question.
Follow the survey from recognition to routine, then back to a day outdoors.
↓Recognizing harm
82.0%
82.0% disagree that sunburn is not really harmful in the long run.
Base: all valid responses to this item, n = 7,510.
Each icon represents approximately one percentage point, not one survey respondent. The icon count is rounded while the displayed estimate remains exact.
Reported use
Face31.1%
Other exposed skin27.6%
Frequent use means “most of the time” or “always.”
The population resets here. This chapter is among adults who recognize the long-term harm of sunburn, not the full sample. Valid n: face 6,276; other exposed skin 6,273.
Reapplication
60.6%
60.6% agree that reapplying sunscreen is a hassle.
The survey identifies the reported hassle. It does not tell us whether sand, swimming, time, or another circumstance explains it.
Base: all valid responses to this item, n = 7,479.
What people want from a sunscreen is another part of the picture.
Inside the beach bag
Start with the feature that matters to you. Tap a label on the bag or a row to see how adults rated it. Each consideration was rated independently.
“Spray application” measures the importance of being able to spray sunscreen onto the skin. It is not a spray-use rate.
From priorities to use
Adults who place greater importance on ingredients report more frequent use. Still, 64.9% of this group report using face sunscreen never, rarely, or sometimes.
The survey shows an association. Ingredient importance is not product quality or satisfaction, and the comparison does not establish causation.
We still need to understand how these priorities play out during outdoor activities.
Back to outdoor experience
Adults who enjoy outdoor activities and have experienced sunburn.
How do adults who enjoy outdoor activities and have experienced sunburn decide whether and how to protect themselves from sun exposure?
Support enjoyable outdoor experiences while reducing the risk of sunburn.
Sunburn history and outdoor enjoyment were not measured in this survey. This group is a focus for primary research.
All estimates are weighted using WEIGHT_M1. Each n is the unweighted number of valid respondents for that analysis.
| Measure | Estimate | Valid n | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recognizes long-term harm | 82.0% | 7,510 | SUN_NOHARM responses 1-2 among valid responses 1-4 |
| Frequent face use among adults recognizing harm | 31.1% | 6,276 | SUN_USEFACE responses 3-4 within the SUN_NOHARM 1-2 group |
| Frequent other exposed skin use among adults recognizing harm | 27.6% | 6,273 | SUN_USESKIN responses 3-4 within the SUN_NOHARM 1-2 group |
| Reapplication is a hassle | 60.6% | 7,479 | SUN_REAPPLY responses 3-4 among valid responses 1-4 |
| Ingredients moderately or very important | 62.5% | 7,477 | SUN_INGRED responses 2-3 among valid responses 0-3 |
| Affordability moderately or very important | 55.4% | 7,502 | SUN_AFFORD responses 2-3 among valid responses 0-3 |
| Feel on skin moderately or very important | 54.7% | 7,479 | SUN_FEEL responses 2-3 among valid responses 0-3 |
| Spray application moderately or very important | 37.6% | 7,472 | SUN_SPRAY responses 2-3 among valid responses 0-3 |
| Frequent face use, ingredients not or slightly important | 19.3% | 2,696 | SUN_USEFACE responses 3-4 within SUN_INGRED 0-1 |
| Frequent face use, ingredients moderately or very important | 35.1% | 4,759 | SUN_USEFACE responses 3-4 within SUN_INGRED 2-3 |
Source: CDC/NCHS Rapid Surveys System, Round 1, August 2023. Total sample: 7,599 U.S. adults. Analysis weight: WEIGHT_M1.
All percentages apply the analysis weight to valid responses for the specified measure or subgroup. Missing, refused, and unknown responses are excluded from each denominator.
The use questions refer to being outdoors in the sun during warm weather. Face use excludes makeup or moisturizer containing sunscreen.
This is a cross-sectional self-report survey. It cannot establish individual change over time, causal effects, actual reapplication counts, shade use, sunburn occurrence, or product effectiveness.
Confidence intervals and significance tests are not shown. Differences are descriptive. Coverage and nonresponse bias may remain after weighting.
Beach characters are decorative illustrations, not respondents. The 100-icon arrays represent rounded percentages; skin color never encodes data.
Official codebook Public-use dataset (CSV) Survey design and weighting CDC sunscreen overviewBehind the visualization
This existing dataset connects beliefs, reported sunscreen use, and purchase considerations to a thesis about enjoyable outdoor experiences. It offers patterns to investigate through interviews, rather than explanations for individual choices.
Make the share of adults easy to grasp. A fresh array marks the subgroup change; exact labels accompany rounded icon counts.
Make product priorities and subgroup differences easier to compare. Separate ratings are not parts of one whole, so a pie chart would mislead.
An estimate-and-reveal interaction, response regrouping, and chapter transitions let readers explore the findings. A funnel was not selected because these data do not track people over time.
Interaction references: The Pudding: A Love Story and Growing Up With K-Pop. Original artwork and story retained for this project.
Illustration: AI-generated for this project using user-supplied visual references. Decorative scene only.
View the presentation PDFDisagree that sunburn is not really harmful in the long run
82.0%100 rounded percentage marks. Not individual respondents.
Among adults who recognize the long-term harm of sunburn
100 percentage marks within this subgroup. Toggle the view to separate the two responses.
Agree that reapplying sunscreen is a hassle
The importance of what is in the sunscreen.
Moderately or very important. Separate valid-response bases: ingredients n = 7,477; affordability 7,502; feel 7,479; spray 7,472.
Frequent face sunscreen use, by importance of ingredients
Not or slightly important
19.3%Moderately or very important
35.1%of the higher-importance group report using face sunscreen never, rarely, or sometimes.
Same 0-40% scale. Valid n: lower importance 2,696; higher importance 4,759. Descriptive estimates; no significance test.
