CHAT-UP lines are getting shorter because women are now rating prospective dates on the strength of their texting, a new study claims.
And the men most likely to get the thumbs-up are those who can combine wit and wisdom rather than sending childish codes such as CUL8R for "see you later".
The way a man uses his mobile phone keypad says a lot about his personality, said the poll
of 2,000 adults by inquiry service 118118, which dubbed the phenomenon "Text Appeal".
More than three in four women (76 per cent) judge a potential date's character by his texting style in the early days of their courtship.
And nearly nine in ten (88 per cent) modern women prefer to use texts than real conversations after they initially swap numbers.
This is partly because 37 per cent believe men who call to talk after getting a girl's number can appear desperate, while texting does not give the same impression.
Despite the slang abbreviations associated with text messaging, a surprising four in ten (41 per cent) women are turned off by bad spelling and poor grammar.
They do not want brief, scrambled messages with two thirds (67 per cent) claiming they are more likely to go for men who send longer texts which include humour and some flirting.
Men are advised against sarcasm or appearing "lewd" but should use a witty style. Practical missives – such an instructions to meet at a certain time and place – are less popular and more than half of female receivers (56 per cent) are left cold by them.
The full article contains 274 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
