Text message the best way to ask a girl out

Los Angeles: Now asking a girl out on a date can be less daunting, with text messages fast becoming an acceptable way to approach them, reveals an Australian research on technology habits. The research conducted by Telstra, led to the discovery of an entirely new set of dating rules.

The findings showed that one in two Australians find it okay to ask someone on a first date via a text message. But it also showed that more than half do not find breaking-up with someone via text message, email or phone acceptable. Telstra Consumer Executive Director Jenny Young said the results aren`t surprising, as the number of mobile phones in Australia exceeded the total population of the country. "Few aspects of our lives have been influenced as much by technology as our love lives," the Courier Mail quoted her as saying. "It`s clear there are now so many more ways for couples to interact than there was 10 years ago, from email to social networking, instant messaging and video calling," she said. Some found being asked out on a date via text message to mean that the guy does not have the courage for a face-to-face meet, hence rendering him not worth knowing. Others found that it`s a great way to ask a girl out, as should she want to turn down the guy, it would be much easier than when the person is right in front. Last year Telstra handled a massive 8.9 billion text messages and their latest State of Nation report suggests technology is changing the dating landscape altogether with Australians even creating digital dating etiquette and tactics. The study suggests many people play `hard-to-get` during technological courtship, with 42 per cent purposely delaying their response to a message in order to appear uninterested. To educate Australians on the new rules of courtship, Telstra invited the authors of Flirtexting, Debra Goldstein and Olivia Baniuszewicz, to Australia give some tips on technological courtship. ANI