1 in 2 S'poreans are cellphone flirts

1 in 2 S'poreans are cellphone flirts



By Chen Jingting
Fri, May 15, 2009
my paper

SINGAPOREANS can be a pretty amorous lot when it comes to flirting on their mobile phones.

And a select few are not beyond doing an Edison Chen using their phones.

Findings from a recent poll conducted by Microsoft Windows Mobile show that nearly one in two Singaporeans have flirted with someone other than their spouse or partner through text messages or phone calls.

One in 10 had also used their phones to shoot voyeuristic pictures and videos to share with friends.

Phone users here told my paper that the flirtatious messages can range from compliments on looks to intimate messages containing sexual innuendoes.

Student Suffian Hakim had flirted with another girl on his mobile phone while being in another relationship a couple of years ago.

The 22-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic student said: "I started flirting with a friend because my relationship was having some problems and I realised that my feelings for my girlfriend then were fading."

His girlfriend did not know the other girl and never found out about his flirting. Now, both girls are just his "platonic friends".

When asked about how he felt then, he said: "I felt slightly guilty at first, but the feeling wore off after a while. Also, I felt that it was very exciting."

He added: "I also didn't have to worry about commitment, because we were just flirting."

Student Cara Lee felt that it was "very normal" to flirt on mobile phones or on other platforms such as the Internet, especially with people one does not really know.

The 20-year-old explained: "They don't know you well enough to judge you."

Mr Hakim said: "Looking back, I don't regret doing it because I feel that at my age, I should be going out there and meeting as many people as possible."

But sales manager Daryl Lim drew the line at taking voyeuristic pictures.

"You never know when they might come back and bite you," he said.

http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20090515-141557.html