| Men display mobile phones to find a date So is this true? IS IT???? Men display mobile phones to find a date: UK study
By Tom Wilkinson on 13 November 2006
While peacocks display their plumage to attract a mate and rival stags lock horns, modern man is increasingly reaching for his mobile phone to impress the opposite sex, researchers in the UK revealed today.
Having the latest handset is as important as driving the right car, or wearing the correct designer labels for players in today's mating game, a study from Sheffield Hallam University has revealed.
Researchers observing men and women in restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shopping centres and pubs found the different sexes use their phones differently.
Men seemed to believe phones with gadgets such as video cameras, MP3 players or fast Internet links will make them more desirable to women.
The study, part of a two-year link-up with Virgin Mobile, also used focus groups and questionnaires and found that in social situations men actively display their phones and its capabilities in a bid to look important and popular.
While it was suggested that this is done primarily to attract females, it was also used to show off and gain status with other men in their peer group.
Dr Simeon Yates, Director of the Cultural, Communication and Computing Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "The first results reveal key differences in how men and women use their mobiles.
"We have found that men put their mobiles on show a great deal of the time when in public.
"One interpretation of this is that mobile phones are used as a vehicle to impress women and show off to other men."
Jo Baker, of Virgin Mobile, said: "We have always known that mobile phones play an important part of the mating and dating game.
"It's no massive surprise to know that their status has grown to that of a key pulling aid." |