By making it easier to avoid interactions when they do not want them, and to detach themselves from the sexual act, this anonymity has a tendency to put people on a slippery slope to greater degrees of risk-taking behavior.
Online infidelity means different things to different people. For some couples, viewing porn online is infidelity; others only feel that way about cybersex. People in relationships tend to rationalize that this online intimacy with strangers does not make them unfaithful, because they never had a physical meeting.
But the feelings, and the damage, can be just as authentic.
Does Easier Intimacy Online Lead to Easier Infidelity?
by Katherine Hertlein
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/03/05/real-relationships-in-a-digital-world/does-easier-intimacy-online-lead-to-easier-infidelity
Relationships formed online, and the questions they raise about intimacy and infidelity, can be just as genuine as real-world relationships.
The Internet has many qualities that bond people together more freely. Texting, for example, creates a sense of immediate connection and closeness. Handheld devices’ accessibility provides a sense of continuity through the day, while providing an electronic barrier to vulnerability that let us take risks we might normally avoid. People more freely disclose their thoughts and feelings, accelerating the intimacy and commitment in these virtual relationships.
The freedom to take risks can allow people to share attractive aspects of themselves more easily than they would if they were with their partner in person. And it can allow people to embellish aspects of their lives, physical appearance, or emotions, knowing their partner will never know the truth.
By making it easier to avoid interactions when they do not want them, and to detach themselves from the sexual act, this anonymity has a tendency to put people on a slippery slope to greater degrees of risk-taking behavior.
Online infidelity means different things to different people. For some couples, viewing porn online is infidelity; others only feel that way about cybersex. People in relationships tend to rationalize that this online intimacy with strangers does not make them unfaithful, because they never had a physical meeting.
But the feelings, and the damage, can be just as authentic.
Real Relationships in a Digital World?
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/03/05/real-relationships-in-a-digital-world