Secrets on mobiles revealed when you’re in the bathroom

Two out of three people read their partner’s SMS messages, almost nine out of ten have flirted with someone by SMS, and 6 percent feel it is alright to break up with someone by sending an SMS message. These are some of the findings of a new survey conducted by Halebop to map SMS relations among Swedes.

Are you trying to hide something on your mobile phone? If you have a partner, you can be sure you won’t succeed: in Halebop’s survey, 64 percent responded that they read their partner’s SMS messages. Four out of ten said that they do it often because they are just curious, while one fourth stated that jealousy is the reason, or because they just want to check. If you don’t want your SMS/MMS messages read, you had better take your mobile phone with you in the bathroom. When a partner is in the toilet or shower, that’s when 47 percent said they immediately grab their partner’s mobiles to read messages. Other respondents in the survey said they look at messages while their partner sleeps, or when a partner forgets to take their phone. Sixty-three percent of the respondents said that they were particularly interested in looking at their partner’s mobile phone after they had been at a restaurant or bar, while only 4 percent said after their partner had attended a conference. “Today, SMS is one of the most common ways to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances, especially for young people. SMS is inexpensive, easy to use and has changed our way of communicating with people. SMS, for example, is by far the most common way to make first contact with a telephone number we have been given – 85 percent of the respondents in the survey said they send an SMS message to a new number, while 14 percent said they actually call,” says Tobias Lennér, head of Halebop. Hot SMS flirting In the survey, 86 percent of the respondents said they have flirted with someone by SMS. Breaking up with someone with an SMS message is not as usual, with 14 percent answering that they had done it, while only 6 percent said that it was an acceptable way to break up. Four out of ten respondents in the Halebop survey have had “SMS sex”, of which 44 percent with their partner and 14 percent with their lover. Seven percent said they have had SMS sex with an unknown person, which might be related to the fact that 83 percent stated that they have sent an SMS or MMS message to the wrong person at least once. About the survey Halebop polled 685 people in Sweden to find out how they use the SMS and MMS services. The survey on SMS relations was conducted between August 25 and September 5, 2005 on Halebop’s website, www.halebop.se.