網絡快餐愛情：224條推特就能相愛
Modern couples are falling in love in just half the time as their parents' generation, with it now taking just 224 tweets and 163 text messages to woo partners, new research suggests.
現代情侶墜入愛河的時間，比他們的父輩縮短了一半。根據新研究發現，只要發224條推特和163條短信，現代人就能發展成情侶。
Twitter is now the most common way to secure a new partner and the ‘three day rule’ for calling a date back has been abandoned for a few hours.
推特現在已經成了勾搭新伴侶最普通的方式，從前的“三天法則”——即在跟對方約會後至少過三天再聯繫對方——也已經被拋棄，現在已經縮短到了幾小時。
A study found modern technology is speeding things up for couples who now rely on social media and texting to secure a relationship, rather than old fashioned methods of their parents' generation which took twice as long.
這項研究發現，對那些依靠社交媒體和發短信的方式發展關係的情侶來說，現代科技讓一切加速。而他們的父輩的方式更老套，花的時間也要多一倍。
Couples aged 55 and over said on average their courting process took more than two and a half months (78 days) whereas for those under the age of 25 it takes just under one month (24 days) for them to refer to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, according to the study by PIXmania.
根據PIXmania的這項研究，55歲及以上的情侶表示，他們的求偶過程一般需要花兩個半月的時間（78天），而那些年紀在25歲以下的年輕人則可以在一個月內（24天）就確定關係，稱呼對方爲男女朋友。
Instead of obeying the ‘three day rule’ to contact a date, the research revealed 68 per cent of people said they were now happy to communicate with their new love interest within four hours of a first date.
研究還發現，68%的人已經放棄了聯繫約會對象的“三天法則”，現在的人們很樂意在第一次約會後的四個小時內聯繫他們的新戀愛對象。
It also found it now takes couples an average of 224 tweets, 163 text messages, 70 Facebook messages, 37 emails and 30 phone calls to fall head over heels in love.
研究還發現，現在的情侶平均只需要224條推特、163條短消息、70個臉書消息、37封郵件和30個電話，就能陷入熱戀中。
Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of , said: "With the nation obsessed with constantly communicating with one another, modern technology is putting the speed into speed dating and encouraging more contact between budding lovers.
PIXmania網站的市場總監Ghadi Hobeika 表示：“我們國家（指英國）的國民間聯繫頻繁，現代科技已經加速了約會流程，鼓勵剛剛發展的戀人們多聯繫。
"The days of penning a simple love letter to woo your new beau are over.”
“爲了追求新的對象，給她/他手寫一份簡單的情書，這樣的時代已經過去了。”
Men are more prolific on social networks, sending an average of 517 Facebook messages and tweets a year in an attempt to woo potential lovers compared to just 386 for women, according to the research.
根據研究表示，男性在社交網絡上表現得更活躍，每年平均會發571個臉書消息和推特來追求潛在的對象，女性則只有386個。
Less than one in ten of the nation's couples still write old-fashioned love letters to each other.
在英國，只有不到1%的情侶還會給自己的愛人手寫似乎有些過時的情書。
But it is not all good news, as technology was also found to play a role in the breakup of 21st century relationships.
不過也並不都是好消息，研究也發現，在21世紀的感情關係中，科技在戀人分手時也扮演者重要的角色。
Around 36 per cent of people break off a relationship with a call, while 27 per cent of those questioned admitted ending a relationship by text and one in eight (13 per cent) revealed they had called things off using social media.
大約36%的現代人會通過打電話分手，27%接受調查的人承認會發短信分手，8個人中就有1人（約爲13%）表示他們會使用社交媒體來結束一段感情。
