We saw this piece in the Metro the other day and had to share it!
Bad spelling and the use of abbreviations and acronyms such as ‘gr8’, ‘lol’ and ‘LMAO’ often put off a would-be partner from a second meeting.
Double-texting, where another text is sent before getting a reply to the first, and one-word messages are also cited as no-nos in the world of ‘textiquette’.
The average single adult spends more than 14 minutes crafting each post-first-date message to perfection, it is claimed.
Men are 60 per cent more likely than women to ask a friend to check whether the text is acceptable before sending it.
Kate Taylor said: ‘Not only do you now need to perform well on the date itself, if your follow up message is not up to scratch, then you might be out of contention for a second meeting.’
Texts should be light-hearted, tantalising and not contain outpourings of emotion, she added.
Other tips include being mysterious by not answering every message – to keep the other person coming back for more –and never send a message with a ‘smiley’ attached.
And one of the cardinal rules, according to a YouGov study for a mainstream dating site, is to never sound desperate by sending a text saying: ‘Did you get my message?’
So now you know – if you want a first date, let alone a second, text speak is only harming your chances (and that goes for profiles as well as texts)!
