It was discovered that over a quarter of UK adults will not bother to put pen to paper this festive season, while nearly two thirds admit that they now send fewer cards than they did ten years ago.
And it seems social media may now take pen-to-paper’s place – with a whopping 52 per cent admitting that these days they wish their friends and family ‘Merry Christmas’ via social media or messaging apps.
Facebook is the favoured method of Christmas communication – with 49 per cent of people using the social network to spread their season’s greetings.
21 per cent of people use WhatsApp and eight per cent wish their nearest and dearest the best of the season via Twitter.
And it’s not just the younger generations cottoning on the ease of using the internet to spread Christmas cheer – 34 per cent of people over 65 now favour sending messages online.
For one in four people the speed of using the web a big reason for this shift in tradition, while one in ten people also feel that social media allows them to add a personal touches to their messages that cards can’t offer – such as photos, videos and voice notes.
Other factors adding to the decline of the Christmas card include:
- Traditional post is too slow (26%)
- Cost of sending cards (25%)
- It’s seen as old fashioned (22%)
- Digital greetings are more environmentally friendly (13%)
Etiquette expert, Grant Harrold, said: “As times change, so do traditions, and the findings from this survey highlight how the desire for convenient and instant communication is touching every part of our lives – even at Christmas.
“As long as the message comes from the heart and shows that your loved ones are being thought about at this special time of year, it doesn’t matter what form the greeting comes in.
“The only scrooges this Christmas will be the ones who don’t send anything!”
Alix Murphy from WorldRemit, the digital money transfer service, says: “Just because something is sent digitally doesn’t mean it isn’t heartfelt.
Last year, we saw our Mobile Money transfer rates more than double during the festive period with our users keen to send money home to ensure that even though they aren’t physically there, they are still part of the celebrations – big seasonal events such as Christmas, Diwali, and Ramadan are always times when we think of our families and want to be with them.”
[Source:-The Sun]
