When Flirting Turns Into Infidelity: The Facebook Dilemma

When Flirting Turns Into Infidelity: The Facebook Dilemma

Background

Facebook is one of the most popular online platforms where people form social networks with other people from all over the globe. On Facebook, one creates a profile where they input the personal information that they would like to share with other Facebook users. It is a virtual world where one can create a profile that contrasts their normal lives; as such, some profiles are misleading. In as much as Facebook creates a global social networking platform, it is a breeding ground for many relationship conflicts. This article discusses in-depth matters concerning facebook infidelity.

Facebook and committed relationships

Excessive use of facebook contributes largely to marital conflicts as well as dissolution. Some problems occur when partners compare each other to their virtual facebook friends while some dissatisfied partners turn to Facebook to seek satisfactory social interactions. As such, instead of solving the underlying problems in their relationships, the couple turns to Facebook to avoid such confrontation. Excessive Facebook use can complicate a relationship where a partner suffers from Facebook Addiction Disorder. Such a person gets addicted to Facebook to the extent that they forget their daily routines including commitments to their relationships. Also, simple interpersonal interactions with other users are reported to contribute to jealousy, suspicion, and conflict in a committed relationship leading to a disagreement or a divorce. 

Flirtation

When a spouse engages in online flirtation, more often than not, they lose interest in their current relationship. Facebook flirtatious behaviors include physical and sexual reactions that are stronger than in a regular face-to-face interaction. Facebook flirting contributes to facebook infidelity cases because constant flirting can lead to emotional and sexual affairs. Such relationships become increasingly uninhibited and aggressive and may lure one to uncover their deepest intimate thoughts and desires. Intimate details, personal secrets, and emotions which are supposed to get reserved for the significant other get divulged to an online friend as flirting progress to infidelity.

Mate guarding

Facebook usage does not necessarily contribute to infidelity. However, it can be used as a medium to monitor the activities of a partner in an attempt to find whether they are faithful or not. Spying on the profile of a partner may uncover potential jealousy-provoking information that can lead to a conflict. The constant surveillance not only destroys the peace of both spouses but also creates unnecessary conflicts as well.

Infidelity

Facebook interactions increase the possibility of Facebook infidelity. Emotional cheating is where a committed partner gets involved emotionally with an extra-dynamic partner. Sexual infidelity is when a committed partner gets sexually involved with an extra-dynamic partner. Both cases of online infidelity can get attributed to Facebook. The unfaithful partners blame their actions on dissatisfaction in their relationships leading them to internet infidelity to satisfy their wants either emotionally or sexually.

Motivational factors contributing to the internet and Facebook infidelity

The availability of many websites makes internet and facebook infidelity easily achievable. Internet-related relationships closely replicate those of the physical world. Also, some unaccepted offline behaviors are acceptable by the internet society. Furthermore, there is a lot of ambiguity between offline and online traits of an individual since there is no actual physical interaction and also accommodation of those particular traits. Another factor that motivates online infidelity is the ease of the secrecy. One can quickly delete a chat history or securing gadgets with passwords.

Netiquette

Online interaction rules regarding what online behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable are called netiquette. Many couples rarely establish rarely establish boundaries for Facebook usage, and it leads to some conflicts. Most of the couples regard emotional and sexual infidelity a constant problem arising from facebook. Most importantly, injured partners feel that online betrayal is related to the partner sharing something with the third party that is considered exclusive to the couple.

Implications for family therapy/practice

Treating Facebook infidelity is challenging because of the lack of clear boundaries. However, a therapist can start with understanding the behavior in question followed by understanding the severity of the infidelity case at hand and then the motivational factors that led to the facebook infidelity. Once that is established, the therapist can find out whether the online partner is a threat to the physical relationship. The assessment is essential because post injured partners take online partners who can be contacted offline as a considerable threat compared to pornography. The therapist can help the couple regain their emotional touch which automatically leads to sexual attraction. The couple can start with simple steps such as sharing passwords which will create a sense of openness in their relationship. The therapist should focus on letting the couple ultimately decide what will work best for their relationship.

Limitations and future directions

The studies involved in the article only relied on survey reports and objective reports of committed partners. Also, no research experimentally manipulated the amount of time partners spent on Facebook to see if changing the time spent on Facebook caused any change in the relationship. In Future, the effect of excessive Facebook usage can focus on other elements such as children, finances and societal pressure. Further research can provide guidelines and insights for the therapists, researchers, and Facebook administrators in an attempt to promote healthy facebook usage.

Reference

Abbasi, I. S., & Alghamdi, N. G. (2017). When flirting turns into infidelity: The Facebook dilemma. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 45(1), 1-14.