The UK poll, commissioned by Kodak Alaris, found that 60% would be devastated if they suddenly lost all their images.
Around a third (32%) said they would rather lose their smartphone than all the pictures it contained.
‘It fact, pictures are deemed so precious to us that, on average, 28% of those surveyed would be willing to rescue their photos from a burning house,’ reveals Kodak Alaris, which surveyed 2,116 people in the UK last month.
The Kodak survey may have interested American photography legend Ansel Adams.
When asked which he would save first from a burning house, his negatives or his wife, Adams replied: ‘My wife – she could help me get the negs out!’
Sixty-seven per cent of 18-24 year-olds value photos of their experiences more than selfies, according to the poll. And only 1% of people said they would take a photo of themselves, if it was the last they were to ever take – most preferring images that document life experiences.
Kodak Alaris is the firm set up after UK Kodak Pension Plan acquired the Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging businesses from US-based Eastman Kodak last year.
It released the survey results to coincide with the launch of its #kodakmoment campaign, a project that urges people to ‘unleash their treasured photos and hail them as Kodak Moments’.
Participants can win prizes including a £2,000 holiday voucher.
Kodak Alaris spokesman Paul Davey said: ‘With over two-thirds of surveyed Brits responding to say they would be devastated if no images of their experiences existed, the value of personal memories and photos is still very much at the core of society.
‘Kodak Alaris wants to provide a forum to bring these to the fore and distinguish them from the rest of the billions of photos that we all post every day.’
For details of the #kodakmoment campaign visit www.kodakmoments.com
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