A new poll by one of the UK’s leading online independent travel agencies has revealed that the average holidaymaker uploads their holiday images onto Facebook within 4 hours of landing back in the UK; whilst a quarter, 24%, also admitted to updating their social media status whilst on holiday abroad.

It would appear that many Britons find it difficult to switch off from social media during and after a holiday abroad, with the average holidaymakers uploading their holiday snaps onto Facebook within 4 hours of landing back in the UK.

The study was carried out by online travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk as part of ongoing research into the holiday habits of Britons and how holidaymakers use social media before, during and after their time away. 1,334 people took part in the study, each aged 18-35. All respondents had a Facebook account and some had other social media accounts on the likes of Twitter.

When asked, ‘Before your last holiday, did you talk about it on Facebook at all?’ 89% of those polled said ‘yes’. Of these, the majority, 54%, claimed to mention their holiday to their Facebook friends ‘2-3 times a week’ in the build up to their time away.

All respondents were then asked, ‘Do you upload your holiday photos on to Facebook?’ to which 61% said they did. In order to gauge how quickly this tended to happen, these respondents were asked how long they waiting before uploading their images; the average answer was ‘straight away (within four hours of landing)’. A tenth, 9%, even admitted to uploading images to their social media sites whilst they were on holiday; either through use of a Smartphone, tablet computer or laptop.

16% of the people polled claimed to post statuses on Twitter about their holiday before and after going; whilst 3% of these tweeted from their holiday destination.

The respondents were then asked to estimate how many photos in total they uploaded to Facebook or other social media accounts after their holidays, to which the average answer was ‘150.’ Furthermore, a third, 34%, of the people polled who did upload images via social media said they were selective about what photos they posted, in order to show themselves in the best light.

Chris Brown, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, commented;

“There’s obviously a fair few eager beavers out there when it comes to holiday snaps and sharing them with their friends and family. I think that uploading the images within 4 hours of landing is very keen, but I suppose when you come home and might have the holiday blues, you want to relive it all again as soon as possible.

“As for tweeting and going on Facebook whilst you are on holiday, I know there are people that do it. I may even be guilty there! However, it’s always best to try and leave technology behind when you go away and have a complete break from everyday life; you’re bound to be more relaxed that way!”