• “b mine”
• “I <3 u”
• “ur hot”
Not exactly sonnets, but these little love notes are what today’s teenagers are most likely to send and receive on Feb. 14.
Once upon a time, kids sent Valentine’s Day cards in envelopes; now they text their love, often with unfortunate results. A new survey found that 30 percent of teens using one texting program admitted to accidentally texting “I love you” to the wrong person.
Here are some results from a recent survey of 705 teens ages 13-17 who use the textPlus iPhone app:
• Nearly 40 percent said they think it’s OK to tell someone “I love you” for the first time via text message, and 35 percent have actually done it.
• 35 percent of those who choose to say “I love you” in text don’t spell out the word love. They use the common text symbol <3 (a heart).
• Often they’re not careful–30 percent admitted to accidentally texting “I love you” to the wrong person at least once.
Clearly the rules of love are changing in the digital age. So what does a romance today look like? textPlus resident “textpert” Drew Olanoff offers these tips for texters in love:
1. Saying “I love you” over text is perfectly fine–as long as you follow it up with a face-to-face “I love you.” You can’t ONLY say it over SMS.
2. Send your Valentine a photo of you blowing a kiss or making a heart shape with your hands–visuals can be sweet.
3. Surprise your significant other by texting “open the door” or “look outside” and be ready and waiting with a bouquet of flowers.
4. Long distance? Use tech tools susch as textPlus Face Text to hold a real-time text conversation with photos.
5. No Valentine this year? Group texting and communities of friends are the perfect place to commiserate together.
