Valentines Day Survey

We have been exchanging Valentine’s Day greetings for hundreds of years and indeed, the origins of 14th February date back to Roman times.  However, in addition to cards, roses and chocolates, Valentine’s Day has also become a day for sending text messages from your mobile phone.   In recent years Valentine’s Day has featured in the top five texting days for the UK, being beaten only by New Year’s Day, Christmas Day, GCSE and A-Level results day.  Sending a text message from your mobile on the 14th February is also very fitting for it was on this day in 1876 that Alexander Graham Bell submitted his patent for the telephone.

So, will we soon be sending our loved ones greetings by text rather than card?

Well, the answer to our survey would suggest that we will indeed be sending text messages to say ‘I love you’ but as an extra to the traditional card and certainly not as a replacement.

Thank you to all who took part in our survey.  We received 160 replies, the majority of which (64%) were from women.

Our survey revealed that:

• Interestingly, 50% of residents said that they were planning to send a text message and that they hoped to receive one.  Thereby confirming that Valentines Day is going to remain a day in which mobile phone networks can expect to see continued high levels of traffic.
• However, 59% of respondents said that they would be sending a text in additional to a card with only 13% saying that they would send a text only. A total of 34% of respondents said that they would send a card only.  Here again is evidence to suggest that the traditional card is also set to remain an important part of Valentine’s Day.
• When comparing a text to a traditional card, 82% of women said that they would not rather receive a text instead of a card and this was also supported by 62% of the men. It is interesting to see that whilst sending a text is proving popular, the concept of the text replacing the card is clearly a long way off.
• Overall, text messages did not fare well in the romantic stakes; only 14% of respondents felt that a text was as good as a card, only 12% thought that a text was romantic, only 13% felt that they could express their true feelings in a text message, 46% felt that text messages were un-romantic and 48% said that they were a cheapskate alternative.  This is to be contrasted by 63% who felt that a traditional card shows that you really care.
• However, 41% of respondents agreed that text messages were a greener alternative, 56% agreed that they were easier to send, only 26% felt that a text message is impersonal and even less, 12%, felt that a text message is a thoughtless insult.
• One respondent said that because we use text messaging as part of everyday communication then a text message is nothing special.  On Valentine's Day you want something special and so a card — which is not something we receive everyday — still has that special appeal.
• One woman said "I would be gutted if I received only a text message off my boyfriend"
• One woman said that she was proposed to — and accepted — using text messages!
• The exceptions to the above were situations where a partner is working abroad or away from home and then a text message was seen as a positive thing to send.

Once again this survey has revealed an interesting comment on modern communications — see also our Christmas Card survey of 2007.  The effort that goes into selecting, purchasing, writing and posting a traditional card appears to convey far more in terms of commitment and effort than the electronic equivalent. A text message can clearly get the greeting to your loved one quickly but conveying the true emotion and feeling behind the message remains a challenge for the technology.

Download the full report of our survey including the complete set of statistics and selection of comments received.