Virtual infidelity occurs when people who are married or engaged they use digital media such as emails, text messages, or social media accounts to engage sexually or romantically with another person, causing, in many cases, a serious problem for their partners.
“Liking a post from your ex, chatting with a co-worker, forgetting to delete your Tinder profile or seducing another person virtually without anything happening to you, For many, they are considered different forms of infidelity.«, says Walter Ghedin, psychiatrist and sexologist, when consulted by Infobae.
However, Ghedin adds that it is possible that the person who does it does not realize that his action can be taken as infidelity.
A survey conducted by infidelity website Ashley Madison and cited by Infobaand reveals that there are different behaviors that constitute deception, and it does not have to involve the sexual act itself for it to be so.
55% of those surveyed answered that an emotional connection is considered more of an infidelity than the sexual act itself; More than 40% of those surveyed said that sending intimate photos to someone other than their partner constitutes deception; and a similar number he pointed that texting was a form of infidelity.
Given this situation, clinical sexologist Lucila Martín Moreyra explained to Infobae that Virtual micro-deception encompasses a series of activities often associated with social networks that generate sexual excitement, sometimes sexual desire, and where the other member of the couple is excluded.
Facebook, the network of exes
A study conducted by researchers at Indiana University revealed that Facebook users frequently use the site to keep in touch with their ex-partners or platonic friends with whom they know they can connect romantically if their current relationships do not prosper, says Infobae.
This comes on top of recent research from agency OnePoll, which suggested that up to half of all women keep in touch with a “backup husband” who they could contact if their current husband doesn’t work out.
Virtual infidelity will always be known
There are classic signs that reveal the protagonists of these stories, such as spending time online in private, smiling over received messages without elaborating, and deleting messages or search histories as a matter of course, he says. Infobae.
Behavior usually changes as things are kept secret and little lies need to be told. Withdrawal from family life may also occur, such as going to bed later than normal or getting up in the middle of the night.