Every day, at precisely 8:11am, my mobile provider informs me that my unlimited daily SMS plan has been renewed for 10 bob – what a lifesaver! In this day and age, dating requires an unlimited SMS plan.

In a study conducted by telecommunications giant AT&T, 67% of text messaging users aged 18-55 admitted to having used a SMS to express their feelings of love to another individual. Another 40% of people felt that SMS played a large part in all of their relationships.

We can introduce ourselves, flirt, make dinner plans, say raunchy things and even breakup with someone from behind the protection of our mobile devices. Technology has made it possible for us to express, or actually type in a SMS of how we actually feel, or perhaps how we wished we felt. Straight to the point – who said it would always be pretty?

How genuine is a SMS? Did she or he really mean what they wrote? Does SMS-based relationships have any intimacy? Relationship gurus will jump at the chance to claim that they have all the answers figured out and that they know when sending a SMS is appropriate. Scary part is there’s even a self-help book and CD on how to build passion, intimacy, and flirting in text messages. The 30-day system even includes text message templates that promise to induce romance.

The truth is that exchanging a few SMS will never replace the importance of a simple phone call and face-to-face time. A “SMSlationship” is an interaction, and will never be a real relationship. So, for those that are in a “SMSlationship,” and your communication with your beau never materializes beyond your phone, it’s time to consider ending it if you’re hoping to find an actual partner in life that will be there for you in flesh.