Reading Time: 2 minutes

Is Having A Cyber Affair Considered Cheating?

Cheating in a relationship is the act of having a romantic or sexual relationship with someone other than your partner. Infidelity goes beyond being involved sexually with someone else other than your partner. Emotional attachment with somebody else who is not your partner can also be considered cheating. Here are various forms of infidelity:

Emotional Cheating

This is an emotional attachment or connection with another person who is not your spouse. This could happen without engaging in a physical action like kissing and cuddling. Your significant other should be the first person you should approach when facing hurdles. Emotional cheating differs from platonic infidelity in that there’s flirting and deep sexual attraction in the latter.

Financial Infidelity

Making vital financial issues without the consent of your partner can be considered a form of cheating; financial cheating may endanger their financial future. Therefore hiding your spending habits and any debts in separate accounts is financial infidelity, especially where sharing money is involved.

Flirting

Flirting is behaving like you are sexually attracted to someone in a playful manner without having any serious intentions. Flirting is considered cheating because you are showing interest in someone else who is not your partner. According to relationship expert Knowles, “it’s only when it starts to cause harm or the intention is to harm, or when you’re hiding – that’s when the betray happens and that can be very harmful”.

Cyber Affair

This is a connection that is developed online which at times seems less serious because the relationship just happens online without lunch dates or actual meet-ups. Many people have a tough time figuring out whether such connections are innocent and just plain friendships or they are serious affairs. If you notice that your partner is keeping this relationship a secret, confides in them rather than you and there’s consistent flirting going on then you might consider your partner as a cheat.

Micro cheating

This is a form of emotional cheating by people who are not ready to commit fully to a relationship. It is observed through various ways like flirting with random people, keeping tabs on ex-partners, and accompanying another person of the opposite sex to ceremonies and events.

Read Also: Having Sex During Your Periods

1028