News + Trends

Survey: Around a third only take photos for social media

5.2.2024

Translation: machine translated

The Swiss photo manufacturer ifolor has analysed who takes the most photos of what. Germany and Switzerland are among the countries compared.

Most people take photos to "capture the moments in life": According to a ifolor survey, this is the main reason for snapping photos, with 67 per cent of Germans and 58 per cent of Swiss respondents doing so. But the photo manufacturer found out even more. For example, when it comes to motifs: in both countries, the top four places are occupied by family, flowers, children and animals - albeit with different weightings. The fifth places differ from each other. In Switzerland, sunrises and sunsets landed there, in Germany food and drinks.

Place 1 to 5 in Switzerland

Place 1: Family (36%)
Place 2: Flowers (34%)
Place 3: Cat or dog (25%)
Place 4: Children (22%)
Place 5: Sunrise or sunset (22%)

Place 1 to 5 in Germany

Place 1: Family (35%)
Place 2: Flowers (34%)
Place 3: Children (29%)
Place 4: Cat and dog (19%)
Place 5: Food or drinks (19%)

By the way, there is a clear difference between men and women in Germany when it comes to their love of animal photos: 37 per cent of women, for example, said that they regularly take photos of cats and dogs, compared to just 18 per cent of men.
The weighting of family photos also varies impressively between German men and women. "Less than half (40%) of male respondents said they take photos of family and children, while this figure more than doubles for women, with 82% of female respondents saying they take the most photos of family and children," as reported by ifolor.

One in five Germans mainly take photos of themselves

Of course, today's photo media libraries would be unthinkable without the selfie. Overall, one in five Germans admitted to mostly refusing to take selfies on camera. In Germany, photos of themselves or their own outfit are mainly taken by 18 to 24-year-olds. In Switzerland, on the other hand, it is 24 to 34-year-olds who take more self-portraits than any other age group.

Many of these works of art probably end up on Instagram and other platforms. 34 per cent of German respondents said that they take photos just to post them. In Switzerland, this question was answered in the affirmative by 28 per cent - albeit with regional differences: Zurich is at the forefront here. A full 43 per cent of respondents said they only take photos for social media.

A little reminder: In addition to snaps and Instaprofiles, there is still the classic photo book. Although these works of visual art are not accessible to the general public, they can be captured and preserved in a much more personal and long-term way. And that's what it's all about when you try to "capture the moments in life".