Loved-up Brits answer texts in just 17 minutes in early days of dating

A study of 1,000 UK adults in a relationship, aged 18-44, found most are highly responsive the early stages of a romance.

Love-struck daters will reply to a text within 16 minutes and 50 seconds during the early days – but this drops to 24 minutes over time.

Bond Zhang, CEO at global tech brand HONOR UK, which commissioned the research to launch the HONOR Magic5 Lite with a two-day battery life, said: “Staying connected via your phone plays a key role in modern day dating.

“As the research shows, many agree the first two days of messaging someone are crucial when it comes to cementing a relationship.

“And a quarter admit if they didn’t receive a reply two days after the first date, they wouldn’t even think about a second date – which shows how make-or-break that period can be.

“Forming those bonds – whether it’s through a call, texting, or sharing your favourite meme – can help a budding relationship blossom.”

The different ways in which couples interact over the phone appears to fall over time, too – as in the early days people send 15 messages and an additional seven social media posts day.

However, two years into a relationship, this dropped to 12 messages, and six social media messages and tags.

As relationships progress, people noticed the amount of time they spent chatting to their partner on the phone dipped around 11-and-a-half months in.

And 59 percent think they spent more time connecting with their partner over the phone during the early days of their relationship than they do now.

Maintaining contact during those first few months was also important, with a third admitting they were “obsessed” with checking their phone in the early stages of a relationship.

Enjoying messaging and talking to them (64 percent), and reassurance their new partner was interested (56 percent), were the main reasons for this.

It also gave half of those polled the comfort of knowing their relationship was heading in the right direction.

The research, carried out via OnePoll, also found people felt loved (27 percent) and appreciated (21 percent) when their partner sent them several messages in a row before replying in the early days.

Bond added: “Most of us are on our phones for the majority of our day, and it’s important to make that screen time worth our while, such as keeping in touch with those who matter to us.

“As the research shows, sending a text to your loved one can really put a smile on their face.

“Whether it’s through WhatsApp, a phone call, or via social media, expressing ourselves through our phones has become a love language we’ve all been accustomed to communicating in.

“Nothing is worse than realising your phone has run out of charge when going to send a message.

“Making sure you have a phone which won’t run out of battery life is one way of making sure you don’t have to worry about keeping connected with loved ones – or miss out on a second date.”