London – Technology may have advanced in leaps and bounds, but when it comes to our most precious papers, it turns out many of us remain creatures of habit.
A third of adults shun the storage possibilities of the internet and still keep their most important papers in a shoebox, a poll has found.
Ten percent are even more relaxed about treasured photos, letters and mementos – leaving them lying around in piles of paperwork.
From a marriage certificate to deeds to a house, only six percent keep a back-up copy of vital paperwork online, while just 13 percent bother to scan it to a computer, the poll by online file-sharing service Lifetile found.
The survey of more than 2,000 Britons found almost half (45 percent) rely on a safe or filing cabinet to store documents, from personal to official ones.
While 32 percent keep their possessions in a shoebox, the box itself is then filed away to a loft, cupboard or garage.
The contents can include love letters and old photos before the age of digital cameras to a will or deeds to property, for instance, the children’s old school reports and mementos.
The survey also found 10 percent of Brits ignore all the other available options and simply keep physical documents stacked in piles at various places around the home.
An ultra cautious 4 percent have safety deposit boxes, said the survey.
Men are almost twice as likely women to keep such documents either online or on a computer, and younger adults more likely than older ones to do so, the research showed.
Founder Richard Grant said: ‘The old shoebox represents a comforting place for people to keep their important documents and treasured memories.
‘They can return time and again to look at photos of their children growing up, love letters, marriage certificates and much more.
‘It’s the story of your life in its simplest form. But the internet has opened up the possibility of immortalising our life story, by making it digital.’
It is harder to lose documents and memories kept online, easier to share them with others and easier to find them in a hurry than if they were stored out of the way at home.
Grant added: ‘We spend so much of our life online, using the web to learn, shop and socialise and yet when it comes to the big life events and our important documents, all of which define us, we often choose to keep them tucked away for a rainy day.’
Daily Mail