Infidelity: Flirting as a Form of Cheating in a Relationship

cheating Infidelity Sherri Meyers Jor-El Caraballo M.Ed. Viva Wellness Dr. Seth Meyers Jordan Madison

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Aug 20, 05:31 pm

Infidelity or cheating is the act of being unfaithful to either a partner or a spouse, thus, cheating has a lot of forms and may include sexual relations, flirting, etc.

One of the forms of cheating is emotional cheating. This could happen through late-night texting and constant messaging on social media. This form of cheating is very different from platonic relationships as this involves malice towards another person. This can also involve things couples normally do such as cuddling, holding hands, kissing, and more. It happens when a spouse was allowing his or her emotions to connect with another person except for your partner.

Sherri Meyers, Marriage Therapist states that an emotional affair is practically an affair of the heart. An emotional affair entails both sexual attraction and flirting which makes it more different from a platonic friendship.

Such a form of cheating may also develop online or is usually called a cyber affair and serves as a modern epidemic. This includes no personal dates nor meetings as everything can happen online which makes it less serious, thus, is still a form of cheating.

The Institute for Family Studies revealed in one of their articles on the data on infidelity in America that many married men are more prone to sexual cheating than females. The General Social Survey says 20 percent of men reflect the data by the studies while 13 percent for women, per Bonobology.

Social media as a tool and instrument for cheaters

Jor-El Caraballo, M.Ed., a relationship expert and co-creator of Viva Wellness, states that social media plays a role for cheaters as it allows them to flirt or have an affair from the comfort of their own couch. Hence, flirty DMs or Direct Messages are not the only indications of cheating.

Flirty cheating may happen when your partner constantly follows someone they find attractive and even exert efforts to comment on that certain person's post. Flirting also occurs when your spouse or partner starts sending selfies or even receiving selfies from someone they are not related to. Lowkey flirting, on the other hand, may include engaging or responding using certain emojis or constantly viewing stories on other social media platforms.

Caraballo says that cheaters would act as if they've got something to hide which usually results in deleting messages or muting someone's message so your spouse won't able to see them.

However, Dr. Seth Meyers, a licensed psychologist and resident relationship expert for harmony, says that you and your partner must talk about what they think is cheating. If your partner treats being friendly with someone who is not your friend as flirting, then it is cheating. According to Healthline, cheating also depends on what's your partner's preference.

The boundaries set by the couple on the concept of cheating

Many people assume that infidelity is physical and it all starts from it but as a matter of fact, infidelity starts with emotions. Some who are unhappy with their relationship find comfort in other people which actually turns out to be cheating.

According to the contributor of Fatherly, Jordan Madison, the way to identify whether a person is cheating or not is them doubting or hesitating to share stuff with you. If a person keeps information from his or her partner, then that is already a form of cheating.