Is online infidelity the last relationship taboo?
Given the 24-7 access we have to millions of attractive human beings whose pile of dirty clothes we don’t have to pick up every morning off the bathroom floor, the rise of emotional infidelity isn’t all that surprising. What is surprising — or, at least, surprising to me — is the number of hip women I know who simply don’t want to discuss it.
Over the course of a month or so, I broached the subject with friends, colleagues and even a convivial gang of women I met at a book-club meeting. They smirked and rolled their eyes, and a few said “Oh, yeah” but refused to dish further. Some had friends whose marriages had ended because of it but didn’t want to talk about it. One woman said that her friend was dying not only of a broken heart but also of embarrassment.
Why embarrassment? Because becoming electronically involved is a testament to our bald emotional neediness. After all, when sparks fly with a guy you’ve met at a cocktail party and one thing leads to another, you can blame it on drinking one too many Crantinis or losing control in the face of animal lust. But to go online at midnight in your bathrobe to trade endearments with a stranger you met in a chat room is, well, mildly pathetic. And the reverse is also true: How awful is it to know that your partner wasn’t seduced by a hot blonde but rather some random woman whose great weapons of seduction were her LOLs?
The most infamous online infidelity example? Find out on the next page ...
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