Is a girl having a boyfriend all right? Kerala says yes.

A survey conducted in 11 colleges by the Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kalamassery, showed 54 percent girls had boyfriends. Fifty-five percent of girls meanwhile, swore that true love would be saved for a husband when they got one.

The respondents for the survey carried out for the bi-monthly Vanitha magazine consisted 63 percent girls and 37 percent boys.

The survey discovered that 46 percent boys and 28 percent girls viewed campus love seriously, although eight percent boys and 10 percent girls did not believe in it.

As for future options, only 36 percent girls looked for a real career.

Business took a backseat, as no girl and only a paltry one percent of the boys looked forward to it.

For a full-time job, 45 percent opted for teaching and 15 percent for a career engineering, medicine or software. Twelve percent opted for social service.

Among boys, the biggest chunk of 29 percent opted for social service, while 17 percent boys wanted to try out a career in engineering, medicine and software. Just 8 percent wanted to teach.

Twenty-two percent boys and 15 percent girls wanted to simply drift and take up a career when the "opportune time" arrived.

As for reading, 29 percent boys and 40 percent girls took the habit seriously.

In the fashion segment, it was just eight percent boys and five percent girls who pursued the latest fashion trends. Sixty-one percent boys and 71 percent girls said they had little interest in the matter.

And among films, family entertainers got the maximum support with 41 percent boys and 50 percent girls preferring them. Just 10 percent boys and three percent girls opted for musical and dance-centred films.

Indo-Asian News Service