New research reveals that couples are falling in love faster than their parents, and it’s all thanks to technology. According to Pixmania.com, the use of social media is reducing the amount of time required for young couples to fall head over heels.

The courting process now takes a mere 224 tweets or a simple 163 text messages. It can happen after a casual 70 Facebook messages. Even a handful of emails or phone calls at 37 and 30, respectively, can have young lovers falling hard.

The study showed that previous generations took much longer to enter into a relationship. For participants aged 55 and older, the average time it took to begin calling one another boyfriend and girlfriend was 78 days. Compare this to the age group of 25 and under, for which the time taken to fall in love was 24 days on average.

Modern communication technology has essentially halved the time to fall in love.

Researchers attribute this to the fact that previous generations were not able to communicate with each other constantly. Instead of following the “three day rule” to contact a date, research revealed 68 per cent of respondents would text someone a mere four hours after a date.

The differences in communication patterns were also seen across gender. On average, a man sends approximately 517 Facebook messages and tweets per year—compared to a woman’s 386—in hopes of wooing a potential suitor.

Technology also proved a useful tool during break ups. Thirty-six per cent were willing to end a relationship with a phone call, 27 per cent by text, and even 13 per cent by base social media.

This research suggests an important shift has occurred in traditional dating practices. According to the marketing director of Pixmania.com, Ghadi Hobeika, “The days of penning a simple love letter to woo your new beau are over.”