A new study from online greeting card and gift provider Moonpig reveals that Brits get writer’s block when it comes to showing they care, with nearly half (43%) turning to AI to help them generate messages of care and support
The survey of 1,500 Brits found that 50% have delayed sending a personal message to a struggling friend or relative just because they were stuck for words. This fear leads to the sad fact that over one in five (22%) people have never received a card during a difficult time in their life. With 64% saying that even a short message can be “deeply meaningful”, especially when having a bad day, the brand’s connection experts have encouraged people to be braver when tackling the things that are hard to say.
Moonpig’s research reveals that nearly half of Brits (45%) find themselves completely lost for words at difficult times in life, admitting they know they want to say something emotionally, but struggle to write it down.
The pressure of offending or upsetting is the primary cause of this hesitation, with 46% saying they are held back by the fear of saying the wrong thing, while 44% admit that writing for any key life moments feels stressful.
The five hardest messages for Brits to write:
- Breaking up with a partner – 39%
- Sympathy for a family loss – 37%
- Sympathy for a close friend’s loss – 37%
- Sympathy for someone having a difficult time – 30%
- Sympathy for someone who has lost a job – 30%
- (Percentage of respondents who said they find it ‘very difficult’ or ‘fairly difficult’ to write a message in these situations)
To stop the trend of saying ‘nothing at all’, 43% of Brits are now turning to AI tools to help them find their inner poet.
The top five situations where Brits use AI to help draft a message:
1. Sympathy for a family loss – 25%
2. Romantic message to a partner – 25%
3. Birthday message or card – 25%
4. An apology after a serious mistake – 24%
5. A thank you message or card – 23 %
(Percentage of respondents who said yes to using AI tools to draft a message in these situations)
The data highlights a stark contrast between different generations. 25-34 year olds are struggling the most, with 61% admitting to delaying messages and 55% obsessively deleting and rewriting them before sending. In comparison, only 37% of over 55s report the same hesitations.
It’s the girls who find expressing themselves the hardest, with nearly half (49%) of women admitting that translating their thoughts into words is a challenge, compared with 41% of men.
