NATIONAL NEWS RELEASE

Modern Brits are letting their creativity die, with a staggering 63 percent saying they have let their talents fall by the wayside, according to a new study.

Researchers took a detailed look into the nation’s creative talents, aspirations and regrets - and revealed one in five British adults, over the age of 30, have abandoned a flair they have for something creative.

And according to the research, the internet and social media are largely to blame - with 85 percent admitting it is simply easier to switch on phones and computers, rather than pick up a pen and paper.

Busy lives and hectic schedules emerged as one of the main excuses for not pursuing creative talents (26 percent).

Family commitments were also hailed as a reason for a lack of creative drive in 20 percent adults – however sadly, over a third felt they just “weren’t good at it anymore”.

A quarter of British adults said as a youngster they had a flair for writing stories and 17 percent said they excelled at drama and dancing.

21 percent of the 1,500 adults polled said they used to be able to play a musical instrument to a very high standard or possessed a great singing voice.

The survey revealed that for the typical Brit, our creativity hit its peak at age 17 – with 28 percent of youngsters having tried to land a career that cultivated their talent.

Joanna Hollins, Head of Marketing for BIC® who conducted the research commented: “It’s a shame that so many adults who harboured talents as youngsters haven’t pursued them in to adulthood. We believe it’s really important to support the next generation of writers and artists, which is why we launched the BIC® Write and Shine competition, to give a young songwriter a foot in the door of the music industry.”

Of those questioned who had children, 82 percent felt it’s very important to let their children express themselves creatively and only 18 percent admitted they don’t currently encourage their kids’ creativity enough.

Joanna Hollins concluded: “Whilst it’s easy to understand how the daily grind and our busy lives take over, if you genuinely have a gift for writing songs or stories, drawing or playing an instrument, it should be encouraged. It would be great to see more than 28% of the population trying to pursue a career that cultivates their talent.”

*The BIC® Write and Shine competition asked budding songwriters aged 13 to 24 to hand write their own original song and received hundreds of entries*

ENDS

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