This press release isn’t really photography-related, except that Epson have published it, but it is quite interesting reading nevertheless…

“Epson Press Release 09/12/03”

EPSON Family Report reveals how typical British family life is changing

The typical British family of 2003 falls into one of five categories

Anyone who thinks that the typical British family has 2.4 children, two parents and a dog called Rover, would be wrong. Independent research commissioned by leading digital imaging company, EPSON in conjunction with leading psychologist, Dr Chris Steele, today sees the launch of the EPSON Family Report. The findings indicate that the typical British family now in fact consists of 1.6 children, has a family income of #24,793 per annum and an annual spend of #1,875 on family holidays.

The report was commissioned as part of a unique social experiment called The EPSON Family. EPSON commissioned the report to learn more about the ‘typical’ British family, their interests, and the kind of purchases that the typical family makes.  EPSON is now currently searching the country for a typical British family to star in their very own web based project that will see them go from anonymity to stardom as it follows the families every move for 100 days.

Key facts from the EPSON Family report include:

Family
The typical family has 1.6 kids
The most popular boy’s name is Jack
The most popular girl’s name is Chloe
There are 286,100 marriages each year and 160,000 divorces

Home
The typical house is valued at #161,665 in comparison to #91,000 in 2002
Nearly half of the population spend over 10 weeks watching TV each year
1% of the population watch more than 13 hours of TV a day
41% of the population gets less than 6 hours sleep a night
3% of the population spend over an hour in the bathroom each day
27% of people have never eaten a takeaway
1% of the population eats a takeaway every day
94% of people drink within the recommended safe limit
Yorkshire and the North East have the heaviest drinkers in the UK
The typical family spends 11hrs 41mins on the internet each month
The typical family takes over 120 digital pictures a year

Money
The typical Christmas bonus is #1,682
Only 5% of the population feel underpaid and overworked
The typical family income is #24,793 per annum
A typical family annual holiday costs #1,875
The typical individual spends #23.86 on clothes every month
4% of the population shops twice a day
15% of the population shops at least once a day

Career
1% of the population are defined as workaholic (working more than 61 hours a week)
London/South East has the highest percentage of people working over 41 hours a week (at 33%, this is more than double any other region within the UK)
People aged between 35-54 work the longest hours
28% of adults do not work at all
20% of people work over 40 hours each week

The EPSON Family Report concludes that there is no such thing as a singular typical British family unit, but that ‘typical’ families fall into one of five categories namely; The Techies, The Easys, The Fit and Fun Lovers, The Selfers and The Good Intenders.

The ‘Techies’
Leading the way with their technology-focused lives the children have mobiles phones, and consider text messaging a way of life. Their parents have ‘satellite navigation in-car systems, with internet access and digital cameras being family necessities.

The ‘Easys’
The Easys spend most of their leisure time in front of the television. They work hard and as a result prefer takeaways for convenience and like to combine it with having a drink - 75% of this category regularly drink more than 30 units a week.

The ‘Fit and Fun Lovers’
The Fit and Fun Lovers are much more health conscious, exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet. Chances are they have calculated that by hiding the remote control, they will walk an extra 3 miles each year. They avoid lifts, takeaways and alcohol and never enjoy a lie in.

The ‘Selfers’
The Selfers are wrapped up in their own lives. Appearance is everything, whether it’s designer labels, expensive cars or topped up tans. Fresh food is what they want to eat, not because it tastes better but because it makes them look better and of course it’s reassuringly expensive. Their technology choices are financially based, buying expensive, good looking gadgets that
reflect well on the family, especially when they are on one of their two annual holidays.

The ‘Good Intenders’
The Good Intenders have more children than any other group. They have opted for a non-urban life, with organic food featuring heavily. They are under constant pressure from their children to adopt a more trendy, city life. They know that one day they will loose their children to the city, but also hope that they will make the choice to return one day.

So are you a ‘fit and fun lover’, an ‘easy’, a ‘selfer’, a ‘good intender’ or a ‘techie’ ?  Either way to be part of this social experiment you can enter via www.the-epson.family.co.uk.

A series of EPSON scouts will be touring the country from January and will appear in Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield, Birmingham, Norwich and London shopping centres in search of the typical British family to appear in The Epson Show.