Forget looks, a new study has revealed that British women are so text-obsessed they now rate prospective partners on their “text appeal” – the style of texting they use, with the “Russell Brand” technique are considered to have the most “text appeal”.

The independent study of 2,000 Britons was commissioned by a text information service after operators reported increasing numbers of texts requesting text chat-up lines and dating advice. The resulting study highlights the power text messages hold in the dating game:

* 76% of women admitted that a man’s texting style directly
influenced their view of his personality and appeal as a potential partner in the early stages of dating.

* 87% of women polled stated that they would never call a prospective date after exchanging numbers, but would instead text. 37% think men who call after exchanging number can appear “desperate” or “needy”.

* 41% of women stated that they found spelling and grammar mistakes in texts from prospective partners – “A definite turn off”, stating it made them view the sender as lazy and less intelligent.

* 76% of single women admitted to regularly spending over 15 minutes thinking about the right content for a message to a prospective romance, with over a third (38%) having run a draft text past friends.

* 63% of single women purposely delay their response to a romantic text to appear cooler – with the ideal response time being 2 hours.

Texting has reached an incredible 15 million a day in the UK because it is less pressurised than a phone call, and allows people to have more control over what they say. Analysis of the study identified four clear texting styles for the modern British male:

1. “The Russell Brand” – Witty, medium length humour-laden texts using observational comedy, with flirtatious use of innuendo made where possible. Used by 34% of men in the study.

* Found to be the most attractive texturing style by 68% of women, it works best for building rapport with women due to its combination of flirting, humour with clear personality. The only danger is overuse of sarcasm or appearing lewd which 23% of women found a turn-off.

2. “The Bond” – Texts are short, and straight to the point with no visible emotion - focussing on factual details. E.g. meeting up “Oxford Circus Tube. 7pm.” Used by 27% of men in the study.

* Although 32% found this cool style most attractive, 56% of women felt it lacked personality and made the sender appear unimaginative if used more than a couple of times.

3. “The Symbol Simon” – Real lover of abbreviated text language such as “C U L8r “, also uses symbols such as smileys. Used by 19% of men in the study.

* Only 16% of women found this style attractive, with almost two thirds (63%) of women finding such texts “childish” and “silly”

4. “The Words-Worth” – A real word lover who uses texts any excuse to write at length about any subject in question. Texts often run-on into a second text and never uses abbreviations. Used by 20% of men in the study.

* Mixed results on this style, with 30% of women finding it attractive, however 58% of women thought it made the sender appear “needy and desperate”

The study also found that Britons should copy their cousins in the animal kingdom when it comes to pre-mating communication – mirror your potential partner’s behaviour. This was found to be most important in two areas:

* Don’t use smileys unless your partner has first – 56% of women stated it made the sender appear childish. Dry humour without symbols is much more successful according to 47% of women polled.

* Only use kisses when the lady does; and only use one. 62% of women thought premature or overuse of kisses on texts made the user appear overly keen and therefore less attractive.

July 17, 2008