Plusnet's Big Spring Clean
Forgotten selfies, hot dog legs and 74% of photos never looked at – we reveal the true extent of Britain’s digital baggage
The average Brit has a mobile packed with photos but a huge 74% of all images are completely ignored once they’re taken.
Selfies and alternative angles account for the majority of unused photo fodder, but despite the love of a self-portrait, they suffer the most out of all photos with 87% of selfies never re-examined post-shoot.
With the spring-cleaning season officially underway, we've delved into the UK’s digital baggage in a bid to help smartphone users make the most of their device before the busy summer season with pics of holidays, festivals and weddings gets underway.
For those preparing to take endless ‘hot dog or legs’ beach snaps over summer, 40% admit to taking over 20 shots to get the perfect picture.
The results also reveal that the weight of digital baggage lies heavily on singles, with dating app users only ever meeting 8% of their matches in the real world, leaving 92% of potential partners in the digital realm.
While the research shows the average phone would take over six hours to spring clean, we've pulled together some straight-talking top tips for a spring digital detox. Inspired by guru Marie Kondo’s ‘sparking joy’ regime and an appetite from Brits to streamline their lives, the tips aim to leave phone fans with more room for the good stuff – whether that’s more pet pics, selfies or hot dog legs.
The true amount of digital baggage on Britain’s phones even came as a surprise to us, but we are here to help with our spring clean tips. Everyone loves a selfie, but perhaps a purge of the outtakes might help us look back at our camera roll a bit more!”
Plusnet's Top Tips
- Cut down on downloading tracks on music streaming services if your data allowance can let you stream instead – you can save room on your phones internal memory if you stream rather than download tracks
- Create folders for photos – it takes minutes and makes showing off your holiday photos straightforward (and avoids sharing any snaps that were not meant for public consumption)
- Unsubscribe from emails – most newsletter emails have a one-click-to-unsubscribe function which makes inbox maintenance easy and will help bring down that scary notification number
- When taking photos, tap the screen to focus the camera lens and get the best exposure – helping you avoid any awkward snaps where your best mates face looks like a frosted window
- Delete phone numbers which you do not need and add surnames to people for ease when searching – to avoid messaging your new colleague what was meant for that handsome Gary you met in the Dog and Duck last weekend
Visit our Twitter page for more spring cleaning tips