Whom Do Women Call? Husbands Lose Out to Daughters

FAMILY   

By TARA PARKER-POPE

      A fascinating new study of nearly two billion cellphone calls and almost half a billion text messages shows how our loyalties, as measured by phone communication, can shift over time.

Men appear to rely on female phone confidantes throughout their lives. But as women age, they tend to shift their phone affections away from men, spending more phone time with their adult daughters, reports The Los Angeles Times.

In early adulthood, men and women tended to focus most of their attention on a member of the opposite sex — presumably their romantic partner.

Women seemed to focus on their significant others at the age of 18, about four years earlier than men. The intensity of the relationship peaked earlier too — at age 27, as opposed to age 32 for men — and lasted for about 14 years, twice as long as for men, the wireless records indicated.

But then, a twist: In their 40s, women’s most important relationship began to shift away from the same-aged male to a female about 25 years or so younger — presumably, her adult daughter. The strength of this relationship grew over the next 15 years or so — possibly reflecting the gradual onset of grandchildren — and peaked about age 60.

At the same time, women’s second-best-friend slot became increasingly male — probably indicating that the husband had been relegated to second-place status, the researchers said.