Archive for January, 2012

Your cellphone may tell you about your love life, according to a new survey. (Shutterstock)

Have a crush on a co-worker?

You probably have an iPhone.

Prone to giving it up on the first date?

You may have an Android in your pocket.

A new survey provides a glimpse into the distinct love lives of iPhone, BlackBerry and Android users.

“The type of phone a person uses can be a window into their personality,” said Kimberly Moffit, relationship expert for Match.com, which requisitioned the Zoomerang survey.

“More so than zodiac signs or astrology, smart phones are the new way Canadian singles can decode their dating style and determine if they’ve met their match,” she said in a press release.

Androids appear to be the most promiscuous of the smart phone using variety – being the most likely to have sex on a first date – while BlackBerry owners are the booze hounds of the bunch.

So, I think the take home message is: if you don’t want your date to think you’re a drunken floozy, be smart and keep your smart phone out of sight.

Which phone do you (or your love interest) have?

iPhone: “The Office Romantic”

• iPhone addicts are the most likely to date someone in their workplace. Nearly a quarter of iPhone singles have had an office romance in the last five years.

• After a first date, iPhone users are most likely to wait one day to reach out, while Android or BlackBerry users will wait until after two or three dates.

Android: “The Seducer”

• Android users are most likely to have sex on a first date. Sixty-two per cent of Android singles say they’ve done the deed after date No. 1, compared to 57% of iPhone users and 48% of BlackBerry users.

• Out of all smart phone users, Android fans are most likely to have a one-night stand (55%).

• More than 70% of Android fans have visited an online dating site, compared to 58% of iPhone users and 50% of BlackBerry users.

BlackBerry: “The Drunk Dialer”

• BlackBerry users are most likely to drink alcohol on a first date – 72% will have a boozy beverage on a first night out.

• Sixty-seven per cent of BlackBerry users say they have experienced love at first sight.

More than 1,000 Canadians were surveyed online from Oct. 13 to 15, 2011.

My bed at the hotel in Phuket, Thailand. Big enough for two? Nah.

I now know why people travel alone.

Want to feast on squid and prawns at that seafood restaurant again? Go ahead.

Did you happen to stumble back to the hotel at 3 a.m. after too many cervezas and wanna sleep in until noon? No worries.

Life’s compressed when travelling with a spouse. You’re together 24/7, stressed in a foreign land with strange currency and culture, and tasked with deciding where to stay and what to do.

Having just returned from a three-week trip to Southeast Asia as a fifth-wheel, with two couples, I got to witness this spouses-travelling-together phenomenon.

At the airport in Phuket, Thailand, we saw a young European couple in a screaming match during which a travel companion whispered to me, “Oh my god. Is that what we look like?”

Needless to say, I was glad to go back to my own hotel room alone each night without a care in the world. And the super king bed to myself wasn’t anything to complain about either.

On the first leg of our trip, the group of us went on a 40-km mountain bike ride through some villages in Bali and stopped at a local family’s home for a tour.

One of the humble buildings on the property was a little one room house that’s used by the town for couples before they wed.

The pair, as part of their culture, must live in the home for three days before they marry, our tour guide, Poni, said with a smile.

It’s “try before you buy,” he said.

If only this was a tradition in Canada, I told him. Divorce rates would plunge.

In a sense, travelling with a spouse is kind of like this Balinese practice, sort of like a trial run of living together, and is a good indicator if the relationship will work.

I propose all engaged couples go on at least a two-week holiday before marriage and if they survive the trip  they’re given a license to tie the knot.

What do you think?

Sounds a little more exotic than getting holed up in a tiny shack for three days with no running water or HBO.

Bon voyage!