The trend: While all women are using digital channels more often for healthcare information, younger women turn to social media and health apps, and older women are more likely to use general health and prescription drug websites.

• 45% of Gen Zers and 35% of millennials use social media as health-related resources, compared with 24% of Gen Xers and 6% of baby boomers, per CMI Health data provided to EMARKETER.
• 27% of Gen X and 18% of baby boomers use prescription drug websites to get information compared with 15% of Gen Zers and 14% of millennials.

Editor’s note: This article pulls information from our just-published “Women’s Healthcare Habits” report.

Why it matters: Women are becoming more proactive in managing their health by researching symptoms, advocating for care, and leaning on digital communities to validate decisions.

Women’s generational and life-stage preferences in digital content mean no single channel or message approach works universally.

• 56% of Gen Z and millennial women turn to social media for reproductive health information, compared with 29% of Gen X and boomer women, according to an AAMC Center for Health Justice survey in March 2025.
• Social media is the most common digital channel mid-life women (ages 35-54) use to get information about menopause. 45% say they’ve seen posts about menopause on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube in the past year, per Olly Wellness and Carrot's October 2025 "Menopause Report.”
• 52% of baby boomer women regularly go online to look for treatment options, while 35% are interested in information about health condition complications, compared with 38% and 25% of Gen Zers, respectively, per CMI.

Implications for healthcare and pharma marketers: Marketers must adjust how they engage and communicate with women depending on their preferences and stage of life needs.

• Digital is now the first stop. Women are forming health perceptions and expectations online—often before any clinical interaction—which means digital platforms increasingly shape understanding and decision-making.
• “Stage of life” is a more meaningful lens than age alone. Health information needs shift significantly across reproductive years, fertility, perimenopause, and menopause, making life stage a more effective framework for messaging and targeting.
• Trust is fragmented across multiple sources. Women rely on a mix of physicians, peers, online communities, and social creators. With no single dominant authority, health communication must acknowledge a decentralized ecosystem of influence.