Filipinos and Indonesians most 'romantically expressive' via SMS
Filipinos and Indonesians most 'romantically expressive' via SMS
Associated Press, Manila
Filipinos and Indonesians are the most "romantically expressive"
in the region when using mobile phone messages, according to a
recent survey commissioned by a mobile phone manufacturer.
Filipinos topped others in Southeast Asia and India in sending
romantic text messages, with 58 percent of 288 respondents saying
they sent "I love you" messages through short messaging service
or SMS, manufacturer Siemens said.
The Siemens Mobile Lifestyle Survey was conducted by research
firm Asia Market Intelligence, which interviewed 1,400
respondents from Indonesia, India, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand. The survey was completed in December and
covered both sexes aged 15-29. The results were released
Wednesday in Manila, and no margin of error was given.
The questions included "Do you send personalized tones and
logos to your partners?" and "Do you flirt with people you
haven't met over the phone?"
Following the Philippines in the "most expressive in love"
category is Indonesia, with 41 percent of respondents disclosing
they say "I love you" via text messages. Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand and India ranked third through sixth in that category.
Filipinos and Indonesians also topped the list of those
preferring to break up via text messaging. More Thais - 48
percent - said their hearts beat faster at the sound of incoming
text messages.
The Philippines has been called the texting capital of the
world. Filipinos used text messages to marshal protesters during
the 2001 peaceful revolt that drove former President Joseph
Estrada from power over corruption charges.
According to the Finnish Embassy, the Finland-based cellphone
firm Nokia in 2002 estimated that there were about 10 million
cell phones in the Philippines, transmitting about 100 million
text messages a day.
While the number of cell phones is not large by international
standards, the number of text messages sent by subscribers is
double the world average, it said.