Young Brits have hoarded 10 billion images on smartphones
The nation is filled with young image hoarders, with Brits between 18-24 years of age storing a whopping 10 billion photos between them on smartphone devices across the UK – that’s according to new research from photography brand Fujifilm.
According to the findings, younger generations are more concerned about memories and events than any other age group, with over a third claiming it’s why they don’t delete their images. Similarly, 37% of all 18-24-year-olds surveyed said they’ve been more conscious about preserving their memories since the arrival of the pandemic, citing it as another major reason for stockpiling their snaps.
A whopping 97% of all Brits questioned admitted they keep old photos in their camera rolls or tucked away in online cloud services, with the average person only returning to view old images once a month. That’s despite 50% of the population claiming that looking at old images makes them feel more positive, calmer (24%) and loved (21%).
However, while younger Brits may be the worst culprits for image-hoarding, they’re not the only ones guilty of racking up images in their camera rolls. Fujifilm has found that more than three quarters (76%) of the nation said they regularly use their smartphone to take pictures, with 78% agreeing phone cameras help them capture life’s most important moments.
The research also revealed women are far less likely to delete old photos than men, with almost a quarter of UK males claiming they have no problem deleting old pictures. Men were also more likely to delete photos of pets, holidays and photos of family and friends when compared with the females surveyed.
Image hoarding is also having an effect on our finances, with 12% of working adults confessing they’re spending up to £5 every month on additional phone storage to help make space on cluttered phones – that’s a whopping £300million spent annually by Brits.
Plus, almost three quarters (71%) of UK adults confessed to transferring old images onto new smartphone devices, without filtering or organising, adding to the country’s growing image hoarding problem. The survey also revealed 18% of the public are storing photos that are at least 10 years old, with those in East Anglia (21%), London (21%) and the East Midlands (17%) the worst offenders.
Says Daria Kuss, Associate Psychologist at Nottingham Trent University and Academic in Cyberpsychology notes of the findings:
“The pandemic has undoubtedly affected the way we interact with technology, with more of us using it to support our everyday lives in various ways. This research from Fujifilm shows that it’s the younger generation who feel most concerned about the effect of the pandemic on their memories and so are using technology – specifically their phones – to capture and hoard images to help them preserve everyday moments.”
Adds Theo Georghiades, General Manager at Fujifilm UK:
“At Fujifilm we want to encourage everyone to live and re-live life’s best moments through photography, regardless of whether that’s on your smartphone, a digital or an instant camera.
“What our latest research shows is that, whilst we are pretty good at capturing our memories, we aren’t always that great at making the most of them afterwards and are letting them sit forgotten for months and in some cases, for years on end.
Further information on Fujifilm’s instant camera range instax can be found here. Fujifilm’s MyFujifilm Printing Service can be accessed online here.
TOP 10 MOST COMMON PHOTOS STORED IN BRITISH PHONES
- Family
- Travel
- Pets
- Landscapes / Scenery
- Friends
- Random Screenshots
- Selfies
- Food
- Work-related content
- Memes / Gifs
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