Snoopers Abound!

Study: One in three snoop on their partner's SMS messages

Fri Aug 29, 2008 1:48PM EDT

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Unsurprisingly, most snoopers end up finding something they don't like, and a good 10 percent dumped their partners after reading a damning text message, the study says.
Other findings of the study, conducted for Virgin Mobile Australia (as reported by Reuters): 60 percent of SMS snoops wait until their victims are in the shower before prying into their text messages, and 41 percent are brazen enough to sneak a peek while their loved one is in the same room (asleep, perhaps?).

Now, as anyone who's rifled through a loved one's diary knows, snooping is risky in more ways than one—not just in terms of getting caught, but also because of what you might find.

Of course, I'm sure some of the snoopers found heart-warming and/or reassuring texts along the lines of, "UR boyfriend sent flowers? Awesome!" or "sorry 4 making a pass at U, won't happen again."

But according to the study, about 73 percent of SMS spies found something that they "wished they hadn't," while 45 percent discovered texts that ranged anywhere from mildly flirty to XXX-rated, Reuters reports.

Finally, about 10 percent of those who took the survey said they'd broken off a relationship after finding an incriminating text message. Ouch!

Personally, I've never indulged in any SMS snooping, or e-mail spying for that matter—mainly because I remember poking around a crush's diary when I was a kid and finding a not-so-nice entry about yours truly. That was eons ago, but man, I'll never forget it. No more snooping for me.

What about you—ever spied on your loved one's text messages or e-mail? Anyone ever confess that they'd snooped on your SMS messages?

Related:
Text message snoop? Study says beware [Reuters]