Sentimental Photos Replaced by Boastagraphs

New research has found sentimental photos may be a thing of the past with social media prompting generation ‘Boastagraph’.

The study found that the days of treasured photographs being placed in print photo albums and put away for safe-keeping has been replaced by instantly posting photos online to show off, with 35 per cent of people posting their pictures online immediately or within an hour or so. The most common content of these ‘boastagraphs’ were found to be family holidays, nights out and pretty landscapes, with photos of the sea, sunsets and ‘selfies’ also being posted with haste.

A spokesman for British Airways Gatwick, which commissioned the study to mark the launch of ‘Inspire Us,’ their travel photo challenge said: “It’s great to see so many people sharing their special holiday moments, but the results of the survey show we all run the risk of boring our friends and family with repetitive shots online.

“While we agree that pictures of Bellini’s, beaches and beautiful buildings are fun to share, the ones that have the ‘wow’ effect or tell a personal story are always the best…. although it doesn’t hurt to make work colleagues a little envious in the process!

“We’ve launched a new challenge to try and encourage people to ditch sausage legs and the selfie-sticks in favour of something a bit more interesting. We’ll be giving the winners the ultimate opportunity to boast, when we blow the photos up on billboards across London and the south east.”

‘Selfies’ are a big part of a holiday for many Brits so much so that a quarter say they’ve either taken or intend to take a selfie stick abroad with them when they jet off. When the holiday is over and Brits return to normality the tan updates begin, with 23 per cent confessing they post regular updates on social media about how long their bronzed skin lasts for.

But it seems approval from followers, friends and connections mean a lot to Brits as 25 per cent have said they feel either upset, annoyed or confused if they don’t get any ‘likes’, ‘favourites’, ‘comments’ or ‘retweets’ on their uploads.

The spokesman added: “A great photograph will ensure you stand out from the crowd. Look for moments and situations that will surprise your friends, make them laugh or inspire them, and you can’t go wrong.”

BA’s ‘Inspire Us’ photo challenge runs until 15^th March 2015. There are 10 trips up for grabs from London Gatwick. Enter at ba.com/inspireus

Most Common Social Media Boasts

1. Family holidays
2. Nights out
3. Pretty landscapes
4. Pets
5. Children doing anything amusing
6. Road trips
7. Selfies
8. New car
9. Dinner
10. Holiday with friends

Most Common Holiday Boasts on Social Media

1. Landscapes
2. The beach
3. Beautiful or unusual buildings
4. The pool
5. The sea
6. Sunsets
7. Selfies
8. My hotel room
9. Food
10. Cocktails