54% of Brits have received less than 5 hand written letters in the last decade

New research from Cunard Cruises has found that 54% of Brits have received less than 5 letters in the last 10 years – that’s less than one every two years. Furthermore, 26% of Brits have not received any handwritten letters in this time.

Shockingly, Brits are barely even picking up a pen, with the average Brits using one only twelve times a week, but this drops further for 25-34 year olds who are using a pen less than 5 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, with 57% stating their handwriting has gotten worse over time. Furthermore, 50% of Brits admit they have become dependent on auto-correct on technology to help with spelling and grammar according to the research. This figure rises to 78% for 25-34 year olds and 60% of 35-44s.

Aside from grammar, respondents also said they don’t feel confident expressing their emotions in writing and find it easier using emojis on their phone (17%).

Despite this barrier to writing letters, 7 in 10 have kept letters they received years ago from loved ones. Brits are most likely to keep letters from their friends (31%), partners (28%) and their parents (22%). While one fifth (19%) still have letters from an ex-lover! In contrast, people only usually remember WhatsApp messages and tweets for several hours (23%), while sentimental letters stick with people for a lifetime (36%).

View the full case study here to find out how we carried out this research and the coverage it generated.