London - It is supposed to be one of the nicest aspects of being in a relationship.
But an evening chat with our partner about our day appears to be becoming a very rare occurrence.
According to a study, one in four couples speak to their partner for just ten minutes a day or less.
Increasing workloads are blamed for the downturn in people talking to their loved ones.
The survey also revealed that four percent of people completely ignore their partners and another one in four cannot remember the last time they sat down to dinner together.
A total of two in five people admitted that they didn’t want to cook dinner and eat together when they returned home from work. Just under a half questioned wished they had more energy to cook.
Two-thirds said they preferred spending time on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook in the evenings rather than sharing a home-cooked meal.
One in five people said they would eat on the couch in front of the television every night rather than at the table.
However, 65 percent of those surveyed said they class spending quality time with their loved one as a “priority” and 38 percent felt guilty about the lack of time they spend together.
A further seven out of ten people claimed a “night in” was the best way to spend an evening with a partner.
Charlie Bigham, who runs Bigham’s ready meals and commissioned the survey of 2,000 people, said: “It is shocking to think that the majority of UK couples appear to be in a ‘conversation coma’, too tired to cook on a weekday evening and faced with wide range of distractions when they get home.”
In 2010, another survey revealed that increasing workloads had led couples to spend less than an hour a day talking while together, with one in five of people spending just 15 minutes a day chatting in person.
Instead, communication is filtered through technology such as mobiles or emails which give the appearance of intimacy but are actually a barrier to real contact.
The average couple was revealed to send 1,002 SMSes and almost 400 emails to each other a year.
Women send more texts with an average of two a day, while 12 percent admitted to sending six or more.
And of the 1,000 people questioned, 13 percent admitted checking Facebook to keep track of what their partner is up to.
The survey, by insurance company esure, found that, excluding time asleep, the average couple now spends just three hours and 45 minutes together in the week, of which 51 minutes is spent in silence in front of the TV and 37 minutes carrying out chores.
More than a quarter of couples said they did not get the chance to have a proper chat until the weekend.
The poll also revealed that 41 percent of couples sent texts, emails or used social networking sites to relay messages to each other rather than speaking.
It is little wonder, then, that 28 percent of those polled said they often felt annoyed when their partner texted or emailed while they were together.
Couples living in London spent the least time communicating face-to-face with an average of just 52 minutes a day.
The Scots topped the poll on 74 minutes. But while technology may be helping busy couples stay in contact, it can also drive us apart. - Daily Mail