Americans Feel Less Pressure to Share Photos on Social Media Due to Pandemic, According to Survey

A new global survey of 4,000 people across eight countries also probed respondents' biggest "memory mishaps" — AKA losing digital photos or videos

Photo: SWNS

Being home more often during the pandemic hasn't only shifted anxiety surrounding photo ops — according to new survey data, it's also relieved some of the pressure of photo sharing.

Forty-nine percent of respondents agreed that, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, pressure to share memories on social media prevented them from being "in the moment."

That pressure has been lessened, happily, for three-quarters of these respondents.

The new global survey of 4,000 people across eight countries also probed respondents' biggest "memory mishaps" that lead to the loss of digital videos and photos.

The most common reason for losing souvenirs was found to be accidentally deleting a photo or video – a gaffe to which nearly half (48%) of respondents copped.

Other top contenders included being forced to delete other photos/videos due to running out of storage (46%), running out of space on a phone/camera during an important event (35%) and losing important photos/videos by failing to save from a text or email (29%).

The most common reaction to losing a fond memory? Swearing, which 27% of respondents admitted they've done upon realizing they had misplaced a photo or video that was important to them.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of GoPro for the launch of its new Quik app, the study also examined respondents' opinions on the culture of sharing photos and videos on social media.

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Over four in 10 respondents said they have so many photos and videos on their devices that if they don't flag, folder or heart a "keeper" photo right away, it's "basically gone forever."

It appears to be an even more common problem for U.S. respondents, 53% of whom felt this way.

So it's hardly surprising 62% of respondents reported that they "sometimes" or "often" feel overwhelmed by trying to select the best photos or videos to share out of a collection they've captured.

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And documenting events is now a significant time investment, as the average survey taker was found to spend 19 minutes just combing through photos after an event in order to ascertain which were the best shots.

This is likely to be even more of a problem for the 55% of respondents who said they tend to be the designated photo-taker at gatherings of family and friends.