Kiwi blokes aren’t in touch with their feelings? Yeah nah. New research reveals Kiwi men are quicker to use the L-word than Kiwi women
It’s one of the most important milestones in a relationship and the latest findings from a nationwide survey have shown Kiwi men are 25 per cent more likely than women to confess their love within the first month of dating.
While the majority of New Zealanders who are currently loved-up took the plunge and declared their feelings within the first three months of their relationship, 14 per cent admitted to saying “I love you” within the first week.
The research, surverying 2200 New Zealanders, also found that more than 20 per cent did not say their first “I love you” directly, with men more inclined than women to say the three magic words for the first time over the phone or via a messaging app.
2degrees has commissioned this research as part of its latest campaign encouraging Kiwis to have a #GoodChat about how they are talking to each other and the role technology should play in that communication.
Relationship expert Dr Anna Martin commented on the findings, saying “While societal stereotypes may suggest woman are more emotionally vulnerable in relationships, the results show that men are equally, if not more likely, to first declare their love for their partners.
“The findings are very refreshing and challenge the gender stereotypes we have around relationships,” she says.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of New Zealanders (93 per cent) said in-person declarations of love made them feel the most special. However when it came to non-verbal expressions of love, 37 per cent of Kiwis fancied love hearts, kiss emojis, “xoxo” or a GIF over the typed words “I love you”.
Dr Martin added “it might be easier to declare your love over the phone, text or messenger but no matter how many love heart emojis you include, face-to-face declarations of love increase the likelihood of feeling truly connected with your partner.”
2degrees CEO, Stewart Sherriff, says Through the research, the company wanted to inspire Kiwis to have a #Goodchat with the important people in their life.
“Obviously the days of the archetypal Kiwi male who keeps his feelings bottled up are clearly behind us which is encouraging to see.”
To hear more from Dr Martin about how to communicate positively and constructively with those closest to you, visit 2degrees.co.nz/goodchat
About 2degrees:
Communication comes naturally to you. It’s easy. And at 2degrees we want to keep it that way.
Back in 2009 we burst into the market determined to give Kiwis a better choice of telco and a fairer deal. From day one we challenged the status quo by halving the price of calls and texts and overnight freeing people to use their mobile for less than ever before.
Since then we’ve invested more than $680m into building our own new mobile network to cover 98.5% of the places that New Zealanders live, work and play. Later, we set our sights on broadband and acquired a NZ-based internet service provider in 2015 to offer ADSL, VDSL and UFB services, supported by award-winning, NZ-based customer care.
In 2017 we announced a maiden profit of $13.4m for the year ended December 31 2016. Today we’re a fast growing business with more than one million customers, a 1200-strong team and 55 retail outlets throughout the country.