Curnard Cruises commissioned a PR survey with Atomik Research to find out more about the nation’s letter sending habits. The survey of 2,002 UK adults looked at how many letters people receive and send and what it is that is stopping us penning a note.
For centuries we’ve corresponded by letters. Whether it’s in moments of love, gratitude or anger, pen to paper has been the go-to method for keeping in touch. However, it would seem that few of us nowadays are using this method, with many going days without picking up a pen at all.
Key findings from the research include:
- 26% of Brits have not received any handwritten letters in this time
- The average Brit uses a pen only twelve times a week
- The research reveals that when Brits are writing letters, they are most likely sending letters of complaint (18%) than love letters (13%), but the most common letter type sent by Brits is a thank you letter (40%).
- 40% of adults say embarrassment about their hand writing is stopping them penning a note
- 50% of Brits admit they have become dependent on auto-correct on technology to help with spelling and grammar
- 17% don’t feel confident expressing their emotions in writing and find it easier using emojis on their phone
- 7 in 10 have kept letters they received years ago from loved ones
- Letters Brits are most likely to keep:
- Letters from their friends (31%),
- Letters from their partners (28%)
- Letters from their parents (22%)
- Letters from their ex-lovers (19%)
- People only usually remember WhatsApp messages and tweets for several hours (23%), while sentimental letters stick with people for a lifetime (36%).
The research was used as the basis of a broadcast day with 4media group’s broadcast division. The broadcast day was fronted by author and founder of the One Million Lovely Letters project Jodi Ann Bickley. The broadcast day secured 17 items of coverage including interviews on TALKradio, 6 regional BBC radio stations and more!
