The article “Perceptions of Online Cheating: Impact of Age, Gender, and Sexual Preference” focuses on the perception that cybersex is the case of online infidelity, which is considered unfaithful behaviour among civilized people. The author argues that most people consider online sexual activities similar to real-life infidelity and view it as a serious threat to maintaining healthy relationships among partners (Kallay, 2019). Kallay also mentions that females tend to view cybersex as more akin to cheating in their marital relationship than males do because they prioritize emotional investment, unlike males, who are more sensitive towards sexual infidelity.
However, the article “Perceptions of Infidelity: A Comparison of Sexual, Emotional, Cyber-, and Parasocial Behaviors” refutes the argument that cybersex is cheating and states that these behaviors are hurtful for the partner but misconceptions about online relationships negatively affect real-life parasocial romances. The author rationalizes cybersex as something not serious and acceptable because they think that no physical contact is involved. The author supports that it is not cheating because of the lack of physical contact; it is a fantasy that a person creates with typed words on the screen that do not reinforce any desire in them to cheat their partner. The article supports the claim that such acts cause emotional pain and are often seen as similar to pornography use, but the one-sided romantic affections formed with social media figures should not affect a relationship negatively (Adam, 2019).
In my view, cybersex is cheating and infidelity with the partner because a married couple is emotionally invested in every aspect of each other’s life. When a person is involved in social media-related infidelity with the opposite gender, he is unfaithful to his partner, making emotional infidelity more threatening to them. So, it is essential to communicate with the partner about a person’s preferences and expectations in the relationship as well as boundaries to maintain a healthy relationship.
References
Adam, A. (2019). Perceptions of infidelity: A comparison of sexual, emotional, cyber-, and parasocial behaviors. Interpersonal: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 13(2), 237–252.
Kallay, R. H. (2019). Perceptions of Online Cheating: Impact of Age, Gender, and Sexual Preference. Walden University.
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