Sunday, November 16, 2008

Reality

Yesterday, one of my friends sent me an article regarding online affairs/intimacy. The article, "Virtual Affair Ends in Real-Life Divorce", talked about married people having online relationships with someone other than their spouse. And how those virtual affairs are ending real-life relationships.

In the article, a wife caught her husband's avatar (animated character representation of himself) e-snuggling and e-hugging another avatar. Those e-activities led to their divorce in reality.

My friend asked me if I thought that was cheating. I told her that 'technically' it wasn't cheating. But I thought it crossed a line. Even though there wasn't physical intimacy, an emotional bond was formed. I think that an emotional bond with someone other than your spouse or partner can hurt just as bad.

My friend also concluded that it wasn't cheating, but that spouses need outside friendships. I agree with that. You need to interact with others - do a girls' or boys' night out, for example.

So what do you think about this? Should online activities have an impact on reality? Are online snuggle buddies out-of-line?

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