Brits fall out of love with the old-fashioned love letter

Britons have fallen out of love with the love letter, with fewer than one in five (17%) receiving a letter from an admirer in the past 12 months and only 28% receiving a love letter in the last five years, new research by Bradford & Bingley has revealed.

While love letters straight from the heart were once celebrated by Elvis Presley in a song, a survey conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of the bank found that today's generation of online and speed daters have little time for the old-fashioned love letter. Over one third (35%) of those aged between 16 and 34 have never penned a letter to their sweetheart, compared to just 14% of those over 55 years of age. And while it may be better to give than to receive, the quarter of Britons aged between 16 and 34 who have never received a love letter may beg to differ.

Singletons face decidedly mixed fortunes on the love letter front, according to the survey. It found they were more likely to have received a love letter in the past 12 months (24%) than those who were married/living as married (17%), or those who were separated, divorced or widowed (10%).

However, they were also more than twice as likely never to have received a love letter (30%) than those who were married/living as married (14%), or separated, divorced or widowed (12%).

Thank-yous

Writing a letter remains the most popular way of saying thank-you, however, with more than a third (34%) of those questioned typically putting pen to paper to thank someone for a present or gift. Telephoning was the next most popular way of saying thank-you (32%), followed by thanking someone in person (26%). Only 4% of people said they would thank someone with a text message and just 3% with an email.

The changing attitudes of different generations towards saying thank-you were also revealed by the survey. While writing a thank-you card or letter was most popular among those over 65 (46%), it was found to be least popular with those between 16 and 24 years of age (17%). In contrast, thanking someone in person was most popular with those aged 16 to 24 and least popular with the over 65s.

Britons of all ages typically favour picking up the telephone (44%) to complain. A quarter of those questioned said they would make a complaint in person, 23% would put their grievances in a letter and just 6% would make a complaint by email.

Staying in touch

But letter writing retains its popularity when it comes to staying in touch with loved ones. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of those questioned had received a personal letter from a friend or family member within the last six months and only 6% said they had never received such a letter. More than half (51%) had written a personal letter to a friend or family member in the last six months, with those in East Anglia and Northern Ireland most likely to have put pen to paper in this period (68%) and those in the North least likely (43%).

Paul Whitlock, head of savings at Bradford & Bingley, said: "The old-fashioned love letter appears to have had its day but writing a letter clearly remains a popular way of staying in touch, with more than half of all Britons having written a personal letter to a friend or family member in the last six months. Despite technological advances, putting pen to paper also remains the most popular way of saying thank-you.

"The postal service continues to offer a valuable means of communication for many people, which is why we have launched a new postal account for savers. Our new My Time Postal Accountis ideal for savers looking to earn an attractive rate on their money while retaining the flexibility offered by easy access."