Online Infidelity

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Online Infidelity

3. Virtual Infidelity

The Internet has led to an increase in different channels of communication, and it has eased the rate at which people interact with one another. This resource has enabled people to communicate at their convenience, and it has broken down many boundaries that prevented or slowed down communication in the past. At the same time, people have become too busy to the point that they have reduced the rate of intimate interaction among themselves. This negative aspect has, in turn, led to virtual infidelity, whereby people in a relationship hold personal conversations with one another using online communication. Infidelity can be defined as disloyalty in marriage and relationships. In this respect, virtual infidelity is a betrayal of trust that threatens the bond that exists between partners using digital or online interactive approaches.

Online infidelity begins as a simple conversation with another person, which is then maintained using electronic conversations, such as email and chat platforms (Graff). The conversations become personal and intimate depending on the length of interaction between the involved persons. They end up sharing intimate details of their lives and relationships. Infidelity can involve a spouse or partner developing a continuous relationship with another person, or with several people in chat rooms. The affairs conducted online are usually done in secret and efforts are made to guarantee that the guilty party’s partner does not know.

Most people who become unfaithful in their relationships because of their online friendships assume that friendly conservations cannot lead to long-term consequences. Most conversations are often trivial, and the people involved in them do not think of the repercussions that follow. They find great comfort in knowing that they can share their feelings. There is some comfort in being anonymous since people rarely think of the impacts of their actions. It is also easy to maintain online relationships today because people have many different ways of communicating and concealing their conservations.

It is challenging to find positive consequences for those who choose to engage in online affairs. However, some of the people report that they seek fulfillment since they are isolated in their relationships. Others seek sexual gratification, and engaging in these relationships enables them to express themselves erotically. Some of them consider this as a harmless activity since there is no form of commitment (Smith). However, the negative repercussions outweigh any positive consequences resulting from the affairs

Negative impacts follow from online infidelity. The spouse being cheated on feels betrayed and hurt. They may demonstrate anger and disappointment once they learn what their partners have been doing online. The same sentiments are expressed when adulterous relationships take place offline. Some of the spouses end up becoming depressed when they learn of their partners’ activity. The person participating in the online conversations and other interactions may end up trusting the other individual as opposed to his or her spouse. In other situations, the level of intimacy between these people may lead to the replacement of the original partners with the online chat partner (Underwood and Findlay 129). Online infidelity can transform from simple conversations to sex chatting which some of the partners might consider the highest form of intimacy between them.

Online infidelity can lead to significant emotional pain. The respective consequence may reveal the nature of the relationship that two people have. If one partner decides to look for another person to interact and be intimate with on the internet, it means that he or she lacks confidence in the relationship that he or she already has with his or her partner. It also means that something is lacking in their present relationship to the extent that it does not give him or her satisfaction (Underwood and Findlay 130). That person believes that he or she can find someone better in the online relationship.

 In many cases, online relationships give people a false sense of hope. Some of the people engaging in this behavior will never meet in person. Just like the affairs that happen physically, online infidelity can cause feelings of jealousy and insecurity. Women tend to be more concerned, worried, and threatened when their partners demonstrate emotional attachment in their online relationships, whereas men are threatened by physical encounters (Smith). Online relationships can become addictive. The outcome is particularly evident for people who have to deal with negative body images, low self-confidence, low self-esteem, social awkwardness, and sexual dysfunctions.  

The advancements in technology, the internet, availability, and accessibility of digital resources have led to the occurrence of online infidelity. Although many people begin as harmless fun, they end up experiencing greater attachment with the people they meet. Some people do not meet the person they contact online, but others take the initiative to meet up physically. Online infidelity has many negative consequences, which can lead to fractures in marriages. The partners of the spouses who choose to engage in this activity feel betrayed, hurt, and disappointed. Others feel insecure and jealous when their companions engage in these associations. The fact that these interactions often result in emotional attachment makes it dangerous. Few positive consequences result from these relationships.

Works Cited

Graff, Martin. “What is Online Infidelity? How We Define Online Infidelity.” Psychology Today, 2014, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/love-digitally/201412/what-is-online-infidelity. Accessed 25 October 2018.

Smith, Brendan L. “Are Internet Affairs Different?” American Psychological Association, 2011, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/03/internet.aspx. Accessed 25 October 2018.

Underwood, Heather, and Bruce Findlay. “Internet Relationships and Their Impact on Primary Relationships.” Behavior Change, vol. 21, no. 2, 2004, pp. 127-140.