A Look At Romance

I'm still without my laptop. I was suffering serious withdrawal Wednesday night and got a day pass for the laptop from the computer hospital. I took it home overnight, thinking familiar surroundings might help it to feel better. It was really sad. Poor little thing is no longer overheating, but it was moving very slowly and processing sluggishly. I kept it company overnight, but returned it to the hospital in the morning.

Since I'm not cruising the Internet this week, I'm grateful to friends for bringing stories to my attention. Marie Tuhart pointed me in the direction of the new Harlequin Romance Report.

For the last few years, Harlequin has been publishing an annual survey of attitudes about love and romance in Canada and the U.S. The new report is available for download on the Harlequin site.

This year's survey polled more than 3,000 men and women in Canada and the United States. Below are some highlights copied directly from the Romance Report 2007:

**The vast majority of men (92%) and women (94%) consider themselves at least somewhat romantic

**Almost two-thirds of men (64%) wish there was more romance in their lives. However, women are even more likely than men to yearn for more romance (72%)

**More than a quarter of U.S. adults (27%) consider enjoying the independence of being single to be important. As one would expect, single adults are more likely than their married counterparts to tout the importance of enjoying single life (43% single/never married vs. 8% married).

**More than one in ten men (16%) and women (16%) have broken up with someone by e-mail, text message or instant message.

**Almost two in three men (63%) and women (64%) have posted a profile at an online dating site.

**More than half of men (55%) have sent a sexually explicit e-mail, text message or instant message to someone. Women weren't that far off, with 47% having done the same.

**About one in three men (36%) and women (33%) have had cyber-sex (e.g. a sexually explicit conversation or video/photo exchange) with their significant other.

Just some food for thought.