Back to school season is here, so is the Fall and that means it’s time to start thinking of getting your photo organizing on your to-do list. Photo organizing after the summer is key because there’s a cluster of holidays and events on their way where everyone is taking photos!
Did you know that 2 in 3 parents do NOT enjoy managing their family photos? It’s true, and as a result photos and videos are not fun for families, and they’re supposed to be. We found this, and many other interesting facts from a survey of 400 parents we recently commissioned.
For years, EverPresent has helped families digitize and organize old home movies and aging photos. But clients kept telling us they were actually more stressed about their digital photos and videos. They were overwhelmed by the size and disorganization of their mushrooming collections and felt like they were losing control. We conducted this survey to get to the bottom of it. If you have felt guilty about the state of your digital photo library, you won’t after reading this. You are not alone!
VIEW THE FULL SURVEY INFOGRAPHIC
The state of parents’ digital affairs
In general, parents haven’t been able to stay on top of organizing their photos and videos. Most are unhappy with the state of their digital image library and are afraid that their memories aren’t safely backed up. On top of that, the clutter and disorganization have kept most parents from using their photos to make things like photo books and many haven’t changed out a photo in a frame for 3 years!
OF FAMILIES ARE NOT CONFIDENT ALL THEIR DIGITAL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ARE BACKED UP
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The estimated number of hours needed to catch up on photo organizing
2 in 3 parents do not enjoy managing family photos - but take over 3k per year Click To Tweet
The Causes and Consequences of Digital Photo Clutter
Parents generally tend to feel that they are failing when it comes to staying on top of their photos and videos. The average parents 3600 new digital photos a year to their collection, hence why the problem continues to get worse. Over 85% of couples do not tackle this household task together and as a result over half of the couples surveyed cited marital issues (like not being honest with each other about the state of their digital photos).
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Often times, parents wait until they have to act. It’s common for us to get a call from someone who can’t use their phone or computer because their device is full of their photos. In addition to these challenges, parents’ ability to use their photos for meaningful projects like photo books and edited videos is hindered when they can’t find the pictures they’re looking for.
More than 50% of parents grade themselves a C, D or F for managing family photos. Click To TweetAs a result of the terrible self-grading, it was unsurprising to find that 60% of parents hadn’t done a photo book in 5 years. Because we are a family memories company, we want everyone to be able to get excited about creative ways to share and enjoy their memories. However, only 1 in 3 families said they genuinely enjoy managing family photos and videos and creating digital photo albums.
How did parents end up here?
We asked parents to tell us if they are confident in their abilities using various aspects of their best photo organizing software. The individual results are below. The average rate of confidence was 60%.
| Photo Software Activity | Percent Confident in Their Abilities |
| Upgrade your photo software to the latest version | 38% |
| Clear up space on your computer for new photos | 54% |
| Clear up space on your phone for new photos | 70% |
| Export a photo from your organizing software and have it printed | 53% |
| Crop a photo | 79% |
| Purchase an external hard drive and move your photos to the hard drive | 50% |
| Send a video clip to a friend | 64% |
| Send a digital photo to a friend | 80% |
| Share an entire album of photos with a friend | 48% |
Our Conclusion
Here’s what our CEO, co-founder and parent of two had to say about the results of this survey.
“American parents are struggling with their digital photos. This study is a reality check and an acknowledgment that the flood of new photos and videos, combined with years of backlog and collateral damage from changing and fragmented technology is overwhelming the majority of parents. Most photo collections are so disjointed by now that families are too paralyzed to take advantage of recent advances in photo software. As a result, parents too often aren’t enjoying a process that should be fun and rewarding: documenting life together as a family.”
Helpful resources
This survey won’t make anything easier, but we hope it helps parents to be more open about the real challenges everyone faces surrounding digital photo and video organizing. Honest dialogue and the ability to ask for help can only lead to greater joy with our memories. Here are just a few options:
YOU WANT YOUR DIGITAL PHOTO ORGANIZED FOR YOU:
EverPresent Digital Organizing Services
YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO HELP OTHERS WITH DIGITAL PHOTO ORGANIZING:
The Association of Personal Photo Organizers can train you to be a certified photo organizer.
YOU WANT TO DIY WITH A PHOTO ORGANIZER APP:
Top Photo Organizing Apps.
YOU WANT DIGITAL PHOTO ORGANIZATION IDEAS FROM OUR EXPERTS: Join our mailing list!
VIEW ALL THE DATA FROM THE 2016 DIGITAL ORGANIZING SURVEY
