Is Online Cheating a Deal-Breaker?
Posted by Kelly Mills at 7:15 AM on November 16, 2008
From Britain comes the news that a couple who had an elaborate wedding on the virtual reality game "Second Life" are now getting divorced. So what tore this couple, who met in a chatroom, apart from each other? Well, Amy Taylor says she caught her real-life husband having virtual sex with a woman on the same game. Later she also reported she hired an online detective to track his virtual activities, though she knew he wasn't fooling around in this reality. "It may have started online, but it existed entirely in the real world and it hurts just as much now it is over," she said. Taylor is now in a new relationship with a man she met on "World of Warcraft".
Now, for a couple who are so invested in their virtual lives, it makes sense Taylor would consider this a betrayal. But what about other couples? With virtual reality games becoming more elaborate and consuming, do activities online carry the same weight as those commited in the physical world? Perhaps some would draw the line at any kind of online flirtation, whether or not it was acted out with avatars, while others would consider this harmless fun as long as it never spills over into real life.
What do you think? What's cheating in the age of online worlds? Where would you draw the line?
I think online flirting is fine,and for the most part harmless. The point at which it gets out of hand is when the participants invite each other into intimate parts of their lives – whether that’s on cam, or in descriptive text. One question I would pose is: if your spouse was saying things or acting this way in person,would it hurt you and would you tolerate it? Virtual worlds are just another part of our consciousness in today’s reality…..