<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Feb 9, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>S'pore teens flirt online <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
ROMANCE is very much alive among Singapore youths, with many honing their flirtation skills online.
A global survey of teenage users of Habbo, an online world similar to Second Life, found that seven in 10 teenagers here feel that romance is not dead.
In fact, two in three of them said that technology, such as online networking sites, has paved the way for romance by making it easier for them to flirt.
Released last Friday, the findings come at a time when the number of singles here is on the rise. Statistics show that there are more single men and women now than over 10 years ago.
Last month, the two government matchmaking agencies, the Social Development Unit and the Social Development Service, merged to enlarge their dating pool of singles.
But the Habbo findings show that future prospects for Singapore youths, who are raised on the Internet and social-networking sites, are bright indeed.
The survey was conducted last month by Sulake, the Finnish firm behind Habbo. It polled almost 130,000 teenagers in 33 countries. There were 2,900 from Singapore.
It found that half of the local respondents have had at least one real-life romance. Six in 10 have had at least one online relationship.
Mr Ken Lim, country manager of Sulake Singapore, said: 'The benefit of anonymity...is that teenagers will not be fearful of rejection in online relationships.'
Online gamer N. Tan said she would flirt back with online male gamers when in the mood.
But undergraduate Katarina Low, 19, feels that online flirting could be dangerous because sexual predators could hide behind the cover of anonymity. 'I think face-to-face contact is still the best,' she said. -- MYPAPER
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>S'pore teens flirt online <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
ROMANCE is very much alive among Singapore youths, with many honing their flirtation skills online.
A global survey of teenage users of Habbo, an online world similar to Second Life, found that seven in 10 teenagers here feel that romance is not dead.
In fact, two in three of them said that technology, such as online networking sites, has paved the way for romance by making it easier for them to flirt.
Released last Friday, the findings come at a time when the number of singles here is on the rise. Statistics show that there are more single men and women now than over 10 years ago.
Last month, the two government matchmaking agencies, the Social Development Unit and the Social Development Service, merged to enlarge their dating pool of singles.
But the Habbo findings show that future prospects for Singapore youths, who are raised on the Internet and social-networking sites, are bright indeed.
The survey was conducted last month by Sulake, the Finnish firm behind Habbo. It polled almost 130,000 teenagers in 33 countries. There were 2,900 from Singapore.
It found that half of the local respondents have had at least one real-life romance. Six in 10 have had at least one online relationship.
Mr Ken Lim, country manager of Sulake Singapore, said: 'The benefit of anonymity...is that teenagers will not be fearful of rejection in online relationships.'
Online gamer N. Tan said she would flirt back with online male gamers when in the mood.
But undergraduate Katarina Low, 19, feels that online flirting could be dangerous because sexual predators could hide behind the cover of anonymity. 'I think face-to-face contact is still the best,' she said. -- MYPAPER
