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Social networking is speeding up many things: the time it takes to let the world know which videos of cats we find hilarious, the rate at which we show pictures of our children to our "friends," and other myriad things people in the past had to do way more slowly - such as courtship, according to a new survey.

And you thought texting was a waste of time.

A survey of 1,200 men and women by Shape and Men's Fitness magazines found that nearly 80 per cent of women and 58 per cent of men said using social media accelerates the sexy times.

"It just seems like nowadays there are so many ways to stay connected," Marissa Stephenson, a senior editor at Shape, told ABC News. She went on to say that where couples who kissed goodnight on a first date had to wait until the next day to see one another, they can now flirt through Skype, text, instant messages and Facebook immediately after.

Making wooing easier is one thing - but getting people into bed is another entirely. The survey also found that only 38 per cent of women said they had actually slept with someone sooner because of social-media sweet nothings.

Other highlights:

  • 70 per cent of women and 63 per cent of men said they use Google and other online tools to screen potential dates.
  • 65 per cent of the people surveyed said they had been asked out through text message.
  • 49 per cent said they had been asked out through a Facebook message.

The survey also proved some things never change. Plenty of people said they'd been dumped by digital means (43 per cent of women and 27 per cent of men). But often the person doing the dumping used that line that long pre-dates social media and will be around long after it's gone: "It's not you, it's me."

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