An Introduction into cyber cheating
As if cheating in a relationship isn’t bad enough, the internet and social networking sights open up a world of possibilities for an individual to engage in infidelity. Since the development of social network sites, people have created various uses for them including chatting with another partner online or sending emails back and forth. Mao & Raguram (2009) go on to expand the definition of the term “infidelity” as the following; a romantic and/or sexual relationship with someone other than a spouse, which begins with an online contact and is maintained mainly through electronic conversations that occur through email. As you can see, since the development of the internet, the term infidelity has to be expanded to include other resources fitting to online cheating. Reading further on, you will discover the predictors of online cheating and up-to-date studies on this fairly new phenomenon.
Betrayed Online
Discovering that your significant other has engaged in infidelity can be extremely hurtful and devastating. In light of this statement, there are current arguments that state online infidelities are by far the worst type because of its unexpectedness and secrecy (Gerson, 2011).
I would have to agree with this statement. With offline infidelity, there are obvious signs that your significant other is cheating, such as continually staying at work later or physically smelling another individual’s cologne or perfume. In a sense, offline infidelity does not have the suddenness that online infidelity elicits. Elaborating more into online infidelity, Whitty (2003) believes that it is behaviorally different from other types of infidelity. Although Whitty does not specify the behavioral differences in her article, it is safe to assume that the secrecy of chatting online in a sexual manner is a huge behavioral difference. The secrecy factor plays a huge part in its continuance. An individual can access his/her email privately and have a full on sexual conversation with their chat partner without their significant other finding out. However, if the significant other does find out of their partners online betrayal, as mentioned previously, it tends to be a more hurtful situation. Discovering that your significant other is carrying on a "hidden relationship" on the internet is very startling because of how privately the act is executed (Gerson, 2011). This tends to be the number one reason for the feelings of betrayal.
Want a professional view of online cheating? Click the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjOgBOFHAiI
Does Age Even Matter?
According to recent research conducted by Whitty (2003), age indeed matters. A study was conducted by her that posed the four following hypotheses: 1. Women are more likely to consider all acts (online) of infidelity compared to men, 2. Older people will be more likely to consider all acts as violations of fidelity compared to younger people, 3. Those who are currently in a relationship will be more likely to rate acts as violations of fidelity than those not in a relationship, 4. Those who have had online sexual experiences will be less likely to rate acts as violations of fidelity compared to those with no online sexual experiences. After the final study concluded, it yielded interesting results. The group aged 17-22 believed that such sexual acts committed online, such as cybersex with strangers and hot chatting, were acts of betrayal in comparison to the older groups (Whitty 2003). These findings seem to be quite accurate in terms of this age group. Persons in this age group can be very possessive over what they consider to be "theirs". While in a relationship, if their significant other engages in infidelity on or offline, they are going to feel immediately betrayed and upset. Older groups, ages 23-70, do not essentially view cybersex and hot chatting as acts of infidelity. Results from Whitty's study also revealed a reversed pattern for the age group 23-44. Individuals in this group that were not in relationships viewed sexual infidelity as an act of betrayal compared to those 23-44 year olds in a relationship. This finding seems to be a little backwards. I find it interesting that people who are not currently in a relationship view engaging in sexual acts with another person, not your significant other, to be an act of infidelity. I would believe that those who are currently in a relationship would view this as an act of infidelity over the single group. In the end, results indeed show that age matters when it comes to online infidelity and cybersex.
Effects of Online Infidelity
With the world of technology expanding rapidly, there are new developments of social networking sites popping up everywhere. Meeting somebody new online is inevitable especially if you are signed up with a social networking site such as Facebook. Being in a relationship with someone is not a reason for the other partner to seek out "new interactions". Talking with somebody new is intriguing and exciting and can lead down the road of online infidelity quickly. Gerson (2011) goes on to mention that internet betrayal can be addictive and obsessive. As mentioned previously, conversing with a new person can be exciting and because of this, it can become a type of addiction. Just knowing that you can access a person by simply logging on to the internet 24/7 can be a comforting feeling for the significant other engaging in online infidelity. The common, mundane everyday relationship can start to look boring and predictable in comparison to this new found online partner (Gerson 2011). The secrecy of this online relationship is essentially what keeps it going and addictive.
In terms of emotional devastation, lets take a look into a case study involving a young married couple. Mao & Raguram (2009) open up the case study with a 29 year old woman who has become moderately depressed at the discovery of her husbands online sexual chatting with another woman. He has carried on the relationship with this woman for 5 years while keeping it private from his wife. The woman became suspicious of her husband when would increasingly spend more time chatting on the internet and comparing her to the woman he was chatting with. When she finally confronted her husband, he denied the affair because he had not physically cheated on her (Mao, 2009). Although no physical interactions between the woman and her husband took place, she was still devastated that her husband would become emotionally attached to someone other than her. As a result from this case study, you can assume that some individuals deny online sex chats as a form of internet infidelity because no physical activities are taking place. This is the common notion of many individuals. Although these online relationships can be erased in an attempt to hide the evidence, they can still persist as they provide an illusion of boundless continuity (Gerson, 2011).
View this link for more information about online infidelity!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH8kp1mVszQ
As if cheating in a relationship isn’t bad enough, the internet and social networking sights open up a world of possibilities for an individual to engage in infidelity. Since the development of social network sites, people have created various uses for them including chatting with another partner online or sending emails back and forth. Mao & Raguram (2009) go on to expand the definition of the term “infidelity” as the following; a romantic and/or sexual relationship with someone other than a spouse, which begins with an online contact and is maintained mainly through electronic conversations that occur through email. As you can see, since the development of the internet, the term infidelity has to be expanded to include other resources fitting to online cheating. Reading further on, you will discover the predictors of online cheating and up-to-date studies on this fairly new phenomenon.
Betrayed Online
Discovering that your significant other has engaged in infidelity can be extremely hurtful and devastating. In light of this statement, there are current arguments that state online infidelities are by far the worst type because of its unexpectedness and secrecy (Gerson, 2011).
I would have to agree with this statement. With offline infidelity, there are obvious signs that your significant other is cheating, such as continually staying at work later or physically smelling another individual’s cologne or perfume. In a sense, offline infidelity does not have the suddenness that online infidelity elicits. Elaborating more into online infidelity, Whitty (2003) believes that it is behaviorally different from other types of infidelity. Although Whitty does not specify the behavioral differences in her article, it is safe to assume that the secrecy of chatting online in a sexual manner is a huge behavioral difference. The secrecy factor plays a huge part in its continuance. An individual can access his/her email privately and have a full on sexual conversation with their chat partner without their significant other finding out. However, if the significant other does find out of their partners online betrayal, as mentioned previously, it tends to be a more hurtful situation. Discovering that your significant other is carrying on a "hidden relationship" on the internet is very startling because of how privately the act is executed (Gerson, 2011). This tends to be the number one reason for the feelings of betrayal.
Want a professional view of online cheating? Click the link below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjOgBOFHAiI
Does Age Even Matter?
According to recent research conducted by Whitty (2003), age indeed matters. A study was conducted by her that posed the four following hypotheses: 1. Women are more likely to consider all acts (online) of infidelity compared to men, 2. Older people will be more likely to consider all acts as violations of fidelity compared to younger people, 3. Those who are currently in a relationship will be more likely to rate acts as violations of fidelity than those not in a relationship, 4. Those who have had online sexual experiences will be less likely to rate acts as violations of fidelity compared to those with no online sexual experiences. After the final study concluded, it yielded interesting results. The group aged 17-22 believed that such sexual acts committed online, such as cybersex with strangers and hot chatting, were acts of betrayal in comparison to the older groups (Whitty 2003). These findings seem to be quite accurate in terms of this age group. Persons in this age group can be very possessive over what they consider to be "theirs". While in a relationship, if their significant other engages in infidelity on or offline, they are going to feel immediately betrayed and upset. Older groups, ages 23-70, do not essentially view cybersex and hot chatting as acts of infidelity. Results from Whitty's study also revealed a reversed pattern for the age group 23-44. Individuals in this group that were not in relationships viewed sexual infidelity as an act of betrayal compared to those 23-44 year olds in a relationship. This finding seems to be a little backwards. I find it interesting that people who are not currently in a relationship view engaging in sexual acts with another person, not your significant other, to be an act of infidelity. I would believe that those who are currently in a relationship would view this as an act of infidelity over the single group. In the end, results indeed show that age matters when it comes to online infidelity and cybersex.
Effects of Online Infidelity
With the world of technology expanding rapidly, there are new developments of social networking sites popping up everywhere. Meeting somebody new online is inevitable especially if you are signed up with a social networking site such as Facebook. Being in a relationship with someone is not a reason for the other partner to seek out "new interactions". Talking with somebody new is intriguing and exciting and can lead down the road of online infidelity quickly. Gerson (2011) goes on to mention that internet betrayal can be addictive and obsessive. As mentioned previously, conversing with a new person can be exciting and because of this, it can become a type of addiction. Just knowing that you can access a person by simply logging on to the internet 24/7 can be a comforting feeling for the significant other engaging in online infidelity. The common, mundane everyday relationship can start to look boring and predictable in comparison to this new found online partner (Gerson 2011). The secrecy of this online relationship is essentially what keeps it going and addictive.
In terms of emotional devastation, lets take a look into a case study involving a young married couple. Mao & Raguram (2009) open up the case study with a 29 year old woman who has become moderately depressed at the discovery of her husbands online sexual chatting with another woman. He has carried on the relationship with this woman for 5 years while keeping it private from his wife. The woman became suspicious of her husband when would increasingly spend more time chatting on the internet and comparing her to the woman he was chatting with. When she finally confronted her husband, he denied the affair because he had not physically cheated on her (Mao, 2009). Although no physical interactions between the woman and her husband took place, she was still devastated that her husband would become emotionally attached to someone other than her. As a result from this case study, you can assume that some individuals deny online sex chats as a form of internet infidelity because no physical activities are taking place. This is the common notion of many individuals. Although these online relationships can be erased in an attempt to hide the evidence, they can still persist as they provide an illusion of boundless continuity (Gerson, 2011).
View this link for more information about online infidelity!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH8kp1mVszQ