Online cheating has become very popular since the Internet and dating websites and chat rooms have been invented. How exactly is cheating defined? Some will say that it involves an actual sexual act with someone other than a person’s significant other. Others would say that it is cheating to simply think about having sex with someone else. So where does online sex fall? If a wife views the family computer’s browsing history and finds that her husband has been having online sex with other women, is that considered cheating?
Many people think that cheating online is not the same thing as regular cheating but the two are exactly the same. Internet cheating allows people to hide behind their computer screens and develop a form of intimacy with other people even if it is not physical at first or at all. Cheating is a state of mind for both men and women; just because you have a computer screen in front of you does not hinder what is going on emotionally. People build relationships by communicating and getting to know each other. When you already are emotionally committed to someone else this is where the cheating begins.
Nonetheless, those that catch a spouse engaging in online sex may consider it cheating if:
His or her amount of online time increases exponentially. If he or she is usually online for two hours then his or her online time suddenly increases to five or six hours of continuous hours online, you may have a problem. It depends on what sites he or she visits and at what time of the day uses the computer. Do not rule out short bursts of online time, either. Go for total time and specific hour.
Did you used to have an all access pass to his or her computer, and now all of a sudden it’s revoked? What can’t get in now, especially when it used to be OK? He or she is obviously hiding something from you, so unless he or she just started working on a top secret government project, he or she is probably cheating and hiding browsing history, chat contacts and address book.
When a person has cyber sex so much that they ignore their own sex life, there is a problem. Fortunately, there are ways to fix this.
One of the ways to fix a situation in which one partner is engaging on online sex is to change that energy over to the relationship that already exists. Online sex can be the clue that something needs to change, such as more time together. Maybe the two of you need to go on a weekend getaway and spend some time in the hot tub.
In conclusion, online cheating is very harmful to all of the parties involved. Any form of cheating raises serious trust issues in a relationship. It is better to be open and honest about what is going on or your partner may never be able to trust you one hundred percent ever again.