What is Cheating in a Relationship?

Welcome back readers, today we’re going to discuss one of the most asked about aspects of a relationship: what counts as cheating?

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Being in a relationship with someone you really adore is one of the best feelings in the world. It makes you a ray of sunshine, and everyone can see it around you. At times, it makes you even a better person. But here’s the catch, as soon as the honeymoon fades away, that’s when the real test starts. When the relationship hits a few speed bumps here and there, it challenges both the partners. And whoever can withstand this, can consider themselves lucky.

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One of the most common reasons why relationships end is cheating. Now in this day and age, as relationships are becoming more short-term and fluid, it’s becoming hard to determine what you define as cheating. Today we’ll look at two of the most common actions, which may or may not be considered cheating by you.

Is Watching Porn Cheating?

40 million American people regularly visit porn sites. From the playboy era of the ’60s to Virtual Reality videos available at a click of a button today, porn has become a common thing. Although it is still frowned upon, that doesn’t stop anyone from watching it. Porn is a booming industry, and many individuals are even viewing it as an alternative career path. The reason behind it is pretty simple, money. Platforms such as Snapchat have led to women being able to charge desperate men for their “services” and earn good cash.

Now back to the topic, is watching porn cheating? There’s no simple answer to this as it depends upon the dynamics of your relationship. For some women/men, if their partners are watching porn and pleasing themselves, it feels like cheating. The reason behind it is because they feel that they aren’t able to satisfy their partner’s needs as well as that pornstar can. For others, it’s just a means to an end i.e., temporary satisfaction.

Here’s my take on it; watching porn is not equivalent to cheating on your partner. Because at the end of the day, you’re only watching it to fulfill your sexual desires. You are not engaging in any physical activity with the opposite sex; you’re merely watching strangers perform sexual acts. Some people even imagine their partners while watching porn, and that is perfectly normal. Insecurity is a major part of why some might consider watching porn as an act of infidelity.

Does Kissing count as cheating?

Now, this is a tricky one. For around 60% of men in a survey conducted, kissing was not equivalent to cheating. To them, kissing is merely an innocent act that does not account for anything, and most certainly doesn’t mean that the relationship has to end. However, for most women, kissing someone else does mean that their partner may be interested in someone else, and that does translate to being unfaithful. It’s a slippery slope, to be honest.

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Let’s take a look at some hypothetical situations. Say you’re in your early 20’s and you’re with your new beau. You go to the club, get a couple of drinks, and your partner starts dancing with someone else, and locks lip for a moment. Now, what do you do? Do you end the relationship? Do you talk it over? Most likely, you will end it because this incident shows that your partner is incapable of restraining themselves.

But what about you’re around 28 years old, and you’ve been in a happy relationship for about three years now. You leave your happy household for an innocent girls’ night out. During the night, you get a bit too tipsy and start dancing with a random stranger. By the end of the night, you end up kissing the person. Now, what do you? Do you tell your partner back home about what happened? Or do you forget about it because you were drunk and a kiss isn’t worth the trouble?

Now I will be very blunt about this, and some of you may not like it, but it’s the truth. Locking lips with someone is cheating. No matter how you may dress it up, be it you were drunk, or things just got heated up at the moment, kissing someone other than your partner while you’re in a relationship is most definitely cheating. The relationship with your other half may not end instantly after the kissing incident, and you two might be able to work things out for a bit, but the overall effect of being unfaithful will make it very difficult for you to sustain a healthy relationship. The main reason behind this is that your partner will start getting the feeling that he or she is not attractive enough to you anymore, or you are getting tired of them, which will make the relationship very strained.

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Porn can have a very similar effect on your relationship. If you are watching porn, it indicates your partner is not fulfilling your sexual needs. Although you might think it is justifiable to watch porn to satisfy yourself, however, it is more advisable to talk to your other half about the issues you both are facing in the bed and sort them out. Similarly, you must keep in mind before kissing someone else while being in a relationship that it can be very damaging for your partner, and it can traumatize them for life even after your relationship has ended. It is advisable to break up rather than cheat.