Love in the times of instant messaging

I'm pretty sure that every person reading this post, or for that matter even those who are not, own a cell phone And if they are in a relationship, or once were, or are looking for one, they must have more than often depended on this little device to reach out to their partner.

One does not need any survey or study to realize how important cell phones have become in our lives today. It has grown beyond a simple tool to stay in touch and has often been the comforter, communicator, friend, confidant, and much more. No one would have ever imagined the degree to which the cell phone's status has risen in our lives – from friendly chats to taking significant decisions, it does it all .

Cell phones have become so common that it is no longer unusual to see students talking and texting their friends even during lecture sessions. While parents may have introduced their kids to cell phones thinking it would help keep a tab on them, but for children it's like being given a new lease of life. The phone has especially come as a boon for those kids who are awakening to new-found feelings of love and find this tool an easy means to explore those feelings !

Thus, as with various other facets of our lives, cell phones also have a huge role to play in our personal relationships.Distance has lost its meaning thanks to the cell phone which allows us to connect to our partner almost instantly .

Ironically, if the result of a new workshop is to be believed,cell phones can actually prove to be a big hurdle in our love lives.

In book'How to Play Hard to Get: How to Catch and Keep Mr Right, Not Mr Right Now'relationships say that women who want to attract and keep a man's attention should go for the old-fashioned style of playing hard to get and write love letters, for sms love messages can actually sabotage their prospects of finding love.

They point out that when a woman sends a sms to her boyfriend or a potential boyfriend, she frets terribly till she hears from him.The more time the man takes to respond to her message or call, the worse her imagination gets.She starts assuming that he is having an affair or probably isn't too impressed by her and is therefore avoiding her.

Of course, writing a love letter in blood may be charming in its own way, but how much blood does one waste if one wants to communicate as frequently as possible. In this instant sms era, where you can text your loved one at thedrop of a hat, patience is no longer a practiced virtue.

Psychologist, points out, "It is thanks to technology that nowadays even when partners are travelling they can be in constant touch with each other, thereby reducing the missing factor !"

Me too hasn't stopped me from owning two cell phones. so whenever she feels the need to talk to her partner, she gives me a missed call and i calls back –a new trend in cell phone etiquettes based on the old idea of the gentleman picking the tab."But if I am in a meeting or when we are in a situation when we can't talk we usually sms,".

While it does not feel that we've become too dependent on cell phones to sustain relationships,she does agree that it has helped in improving the emotional bonds between the partners."In the pre-cell phone era also people used to enjoy good relationships.So it would be wrong to say we are more dependent on cell phones to make our relationship work. But yes, it has increased the bonding and the two people become emotionally attached in a shorter period as they are able to communicate and share more frequently.When either partner gets angry it is easier to make up as we can immediately talk over the phone and sought it out,".

Young or old, cell phones have helped couples explore their relationship and understand each other better. "Thanks to the cell phone.

The cell phone also continues to play an important role in the lives of married couples. With little time to spend with each other during the week they make up for it by talking on the phone and texting each other.In fact, the cell phone is not restricted to helping couples keep in touch and keeping the fire of marriage alive. Mobile dating is also on the rise. It works on the same principal as the traditional marriage broker. Once an individual registers with a mobile dating service provider, his or her profile is matched with a similar one of the opposite sex and the couple can interact and meet up if they desire.

As the latest cell phones come with the latest mobile technology such as cameras, broadband wireless connections and MMS, sending and receiving pictures or text to prospective partners has become common place. This allows the couple to decide whether they want to take things forward and also saves the embarrassment of meeting and realizing that the person is not your dream girl or man!