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Most Facebook photos are taken while we're drunk, survey says

More than 90 per cent of us have had to untag or remove drunken snaps from Facebook, according to a new survey.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Richard Trenholm
3 min read

More than 90 per cent of us have had to untag or remove drunken snaps from Facebook, according to a new survey, which estimates that three quarters of tagged photos on the social network are taken while drinking. Er, cheers!

Photo book website MyMemory.com asked 1,781 Britons aged 18 and over to put their drinks down for a second and answer some questions about Facebook photos they are tagged in. More than half admit there are squiffy photos on their profile that they don't want their work colleagues to see. And 8 per cent reckoned some of the snaps they appear in could could get them in serious trouble at work.

But that's not to stop us making a bit of mischief should our friends find themselves in a bit of a two and eight. Instead of offering them water and calling them a cab, two thirds of those surveyed admitted they had tagged friends in embarrassing photos for the lulz. And a whopping 93 per cent admit they've had to untag or remove pictures of themselves that were just too shaming.

Despite all that, the Facebook generation is pretty open with its pictures: just a tenth say that only they can see the photos they are tagged in, and a quarter shamelessly flaunt their tagged photos to all and sundry.

The survey asked Facebook partakers to estimate what percentage of the photos they are tagged in had been taken after or while drinking. The average estimate is 76 per cent.

But before we start wailing and gnashing teeth and writing to the local paper about this shocking indictment of the Facebook generation's booze culture, let's think about where pictures are taken.

As your humble correspondent has had to explain to his dear old mum on more than one occasion, no one takes pictures of you working hard to earn your pay, hoovering your house, or watching insightful documentaries on BBC 4. People take pictures at parties, so a Facebook profile is probably going to give a distorted view of someone's true habits.

Of course, the only true way to avoid drunk photos is not to drink. LOL! Instead you could get pre-emptive and banish embarrassing Facebook photos with the Norte Photoblocker.

As the Christmas party season is upon us, there'll be a flood of increasingly wonky pictures of our friends to enjoy. But please remember to drink responsibly, look out for your friends and family while partying and on the way home, and don't text your ex, no matter what.

Today is the busiest night of the year for paramedics and casualty departments, with major cities even setting up field hospitals for alcohol-related injuries, and we'd hate to think of you lot waking up with anything more damaging than a few embarrassing photos.

Are you going to be Facebooking this Christmas? Have you ever got in trouble at work over a picture? And how many pictures of you posted on Facebook were taken when you were a bit squiffy? Tell us in the comments or on our good-time Facebook page.