LONDON — Does the “spark” really leave a relationship over time? Lovebirds in a new relationship spend an average of 41 minutes on the phone a day during the “honeymoon period” — but that slumps to just 19 minutes within two years, a new survey reveals.
A study of 1,000 adults in the United Kingdom between 18 and 44 in a relationship finds most are highly responsive to texts and calls in the early stages of a romance. Love-struck daters also reply to a text within 16 minutes and 50 seconds during the early days of their courtship — but even this drops to 24 minutes over time.
“Staying connected via your phone plays a key role in modern day dating,” says Bond Zhang, CEO at global tech brand HONOR UK, who commissioned the research, in a statement.
“As the research shows, many agree the first two days of messaging someone are crucial when it comes to cementing a relationship. And a quarter admit if they didn’t receive a reply two days after the first date, they wouldn’t even think about a second date, which shows how make-or-break that period can be. Forming those bonds – whether it’s through a call, texting or sharing your favorite meme – can help a budding relationship blossom.”
The different ways in which couples interact over the phone appears to fall over time, too. In the early days of a new relationship, people send 15 messages and an additional seven social media posts daily. However, two years into a relationship, this drops to 12 messages and six social media messages and tags.
As relationships progress, respondents also noticed that the amount of time they spend chatting to their partner on the phone dips around 11-and-a-half months in. In fact, 59 percent think they spent more time connecting with their partner over the phone during the early days of their relationship than they do now.
1 in 3 new couples constantly check phones for messages
Maintaining contact during those first few months was also important, with a third admitting they were obsessed with checking their phone in the early stages of a relationship. The main reasons for this were enjoying messages and talking to new lovers (64%) and getting reassurance their new partner is interested (56%). It also gave half of those polled the comfort of knowing their relationship was heading in the right direction.
The research, carried out by OnePoll to launch the HONOR Magic5 Lite with a two-day battery life, also finds people felt loved (27%) and appreciated (21%) when their partner sent them several messages in a row before replying in the early days.
“Most of us are on our phones for the majority of our day, and it’s important to make that screen time worth our while, such as keeping in touch with those who matter to us,” Bond adds.
“As the research shows, sending a text to your loved one can really put a smile on their face. Whether it’s through WhatsApp, a phone call or via social media, expressing ourselves through our phones has become a love language we’ve all been accustomed to communicating in. Nothing is worse than realizing your phone has run out of charge when going to send a message.”
“Making sure you have a phone which won’t run out of battery life is one way of making sure you don’t have to worry about keeping connected with loved ones, or miss out on a second date,” the HONOR UK CEO concludes.
72Point writer Charlie Bayliss contributed to this report.
