A friend of mine recently broke up with his longtime girlfriend, and ever since then we’ve been discussing how to get him back in the game. His biggest obstacle? Text messaging. Yes, it’s 2009, but the guy doesn’t have text messaging on his cell phone. If this seems absurd to you, you’re not alone. Time after time I’ve told him that he needs to get text messaging capabilities for his phone, but he claims that people can always call him and vice versa.

Now, a new study confirms my belief that no text messaging is equivalent to no dates. The study found that the most popular way to ask someone out on a first date is to send a text message. This isn’t 1892, we aren’t going to pay a call to a date’s father to ask permission to take her out on a horse and buggy ride. We’re going to let our thumbs do the talking and see if a trip to the bar is in order.

Newslite reports:

Sending a text message is now the most popular way to ask someone out on a first date, a survey has found.

33 percent of people said they would opt for sending an SMS when asking someone out for the first time, rather than speaking to them face-to-face.

Worried about getting embarrassed if asking them out in person, or on the phone, sending messages like: "Gr8 2 c u. fancy a drink tmz nite?" is becoming more and more popular.

26 percent of those quizzed said they still prefer the traditional face-to-face approach - but 20 percent claim to have asked someone out via a social network like Facebook or Twitter.

The survey of 150 people also found 13 percent of people would ask someone out via an e-mail ... and hope their would-be partner didn't hit reply to all.

According to the study, while the most popular way to ask someone out is by text message, the least common way is to give them a telephone call, with asking in person, social networking sites, and e-mail in between. What is it about speaking on the telephone that breeds anxiety? I can hardly say. It’s just a knee jerk reaction, kind of like how the word “relationship” makes you want to go grab a beer— and a taxi. So to all three people left in the United States who don’t have text messaging, remember that you may be killing your love life.