Is love dead in a digital age?

With the upcoming release of ‘her’ a science fiction drama starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson about how a man can fall in love with his computer, small cottage letting agency and romantic holiday specialists Little Domain decided to find out if there is still a place for love in the digital age. With the world of social media literally in our pockets, today’s couples are becoming obsessed with constant communication, raising the question of where ‘true love’ fits in with this ever advancing technology.

Is there still room for the grand romantic gesture or are we just as happy to receive an email or tweet from a significant other?  Are social media updates the new public displays of affection or is there still a part of us that longs for a serenade under our bedroom window?

Little Domain commissioned a survey to find out just how much room there is for romance in today’s technological age. They asked 1,000 singles how they would best want to show their romantic feelings to a potential new partner.

Social media and the Singularity

The singularity is an idea whereby artificial intelligence (AI) will one day progress past the point of human intelligence and radically change civilisation and possibly, human nature.

Her, is a stark social commentary on the way that today’s society relies on and is obsessed with social media and the constant communication it gives us access to. The multiple Academy Award nominated science fiction film Her, which reaches UK screens this Valentine’s Day is a love story between a lonely writer facing impending divorce, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and his computer’s operating system which he names Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

Other films in the past have portrayed the arrival of the singularity as a doomsday scenario, for example the post-apocalyptic world in The Matrix or the sinister dystopia of Ghost in the Shell, but Her ushers in the idea quietly and under the pretence of polite ‘Siri-esque’ conversation.

Thankfully, in our current digital age Siri can only just manage to get you to the nearest Wagamama, however Her is a remarkable portrayal of where the future of love is heading in the coming digital age.

We asked 1000 singles…

Results show that even in today’s current state, where online is everywhere, we still all long for a little traditional old fashioned romance.  More than half of people surveyed, over 60%, revealed that they would rather declare their feelings for a new partner face to face rather than via social media or text.

 

The Midlands is the most romantic region

It seems that the Midlands is where you can find the most romantic daters! Whether it’s face to face with a big romantic gesture or a cheeky text, people from the Midlands are the most likely out of any other region in the UK to let their feelings out to a potential new partner.

There is quite a divide between East and West on how they show their feelings though. People from the east Midlands are 74% more likely to let their feelings out face to face rather than texting or using social media whereas 44% of people asked from the West Midlands would rather win their partner’s affections using technology.

It’s hotting up in the North

Results show that the further north you get in the UK, the more romantic people are, with the South of England having the lowest results over all for romantic gestures and face to face declarations of love. 68% of people in the North of England would happily show their feelings to a new love interest face to face whereas only 6% of those in the South East would even consider a romantic gesture.

1 in 4 people use social media to get a date

With recent findings stating that nowadays it takes just 163 texts tweets, 224, 70 Facebook messages, 37 emails and 30 phone calls to fall head over heels in love¹, Little Domain wanted to find out how much of a role social media plays in finding a new partner.

The survey found that all across the UK results showed that just under 25% of people would let a potential partner know their feelings via social media. People in the North West are 10% more likely to tweet or facebook their feelings compared to only 3% of people in Scotland.

And it’s not surprising to find that it’s the younger generation who are the most obsessed with their phones and technology with 79% of 18-34 year olds asked saying they would use text, email, or social media to get a date.

Textual-relations

Results found that 1 in 5 people would rather declare their feelings via text message, with women being 10% more likely to text or use social media than men. Unsurprisingly it’s the younger generation that are glued to their phones when it comes to dating, with over half of 18-34 year olds preferring to text a potential partner rather than meet face to face.

However, research has found that texting can even have a detrimental effect on your love life.  With 29% of singles revealing that they would be put off a potential partner based on the content of their post-date text².

It’s a man thing

Little Domain found that it’s men who are the true romantics. Men are more than twice as likely to show their feelings with a romantic gesture as women, who are over 30% more likely than men to let a potential partner know their feelings via text or email. Overall men were more inclined to show their feelings face to face than women, who says old fashioned romance is dead?

It gets better with age

The survey found that people aged 35 and above are the most romantic, with 95% of people asked revealing that face to face or with a romantic gesture is the best way to win the affections of a potential new partner. And it gets even better with age, as 73% of people aged 45-54 prefer traditional romance, and a whopping 79% of over 55s stick to the good old fashioned face to face romantic gesture.

Just 6% of 18-34 year olds would consider a romantic gesture as a way to win a potential partner over! But there’s still hope for the younger generation as 54% did admit they would prefer to let their feelings out face to face.

All enquiries please contact Lizzie Bathurst: lizzie@thelittledomain.com

Survey provided by www.OnePoll.com

1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/10305856/Just-224-tweets-for-modern-day-couples-to-fall-in-love.html
2. http://advice.uk.match.com/lovegeist-2012-2013/britain%E2%80%99s-got-text-factor?sb=on&utm_expid=55691082-12.shlIcwJ0QlWjrflSODSM7A.1&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fadvice.uk.match.com%2Flovegeist%3Fsb%3Don

About Little Domain

Little Domain www.thelittledomain.com is a property lettings agency specialising in one and two bedroom cottages for romantic holidays; with a gorgeous collection of over 900 cottages across the UK’s most romantic and popular holiday destinations.