Sex online – is it cheating?

Have you ever been a part of an online world? Are you intrigued by the possibilities out there? Would you consider having sex in Second Life? Would you consider it to be cheating on a partner in real life?

Comments

[carol]

I would advice the partner who has someone on second life to do the same and see the reaction of the other. Giggle and laugh and show how much you are enjoying it, I bet you they would ask for both of you to stop using second life.....fight fire with fire not jealousy....it does not work.

[Mr bloggs]

Yes,simple,whether its in real life or online its cheating,cheating,cheating,i think if a partner cheats he or she should be given life in prison and even then it still wouldn't be enough of a sentence.

[john]

Anon

You where right to express your feelings with your partner and draw a line in the sand, but in the same context it is very important not to make to much out of it and treat it in the same way that your partner sees it has just a game, and not real life by doing this you will find common ground with out falling into the jealousy trap and the feelings of betrayal

[Deb]

Only get involved with second life in a romantic/flirty/sexual way if you're prepared to lose your real life relationship. My partner did this and promised he'd never do it again, only to be lured back. It is a horrible betrayal and in my opinion its worse that a one night stand. 20 years of marriage down the drain and the feelings of myself and our 4 children all in tatters because he decided that playing with an avatar was worth it. Once the trust has gone, it's over. My advice to anyone else don't get involved with others in second life in a romantic way if you have a real life relationship, ask yourself, is it worth losing my family over?

[john]

The answer to the question posed is online sex cheating I feel this would depend on each persons perception of what they are viewing and weather they and there partner are able to distinguish between fantasy and reality,
I personally prefer the real thing with my real partner of 32yrs and have no need of this type of escapism but there are others that are not able to deal with the realities in a real relationship this dose not mean that there is something wrong with them, it just means that they are not happy with the situation they find them selves in and need to go to relate to resolve any problems they may have in there relationship but instead they look for a form of escapism in which they can fore fill there fantasies with out the feelings of guilt and betrayal in much the same way that people chose to read a mills and boon novel or has used to be lady Chatterley lover or reading a pornographic magazine or watching a movie all of which was once considered to be a form of infidelity,
However like all things there comes point in time when this type of behavior starts to become an obsession and the on and off button on the computer doesn't work and fantasy then becomes reality and this is where I think the problem starts and addiction and obsession take over

[Anon]

I found out that my partner had been on Second Life a couple of months ago, and he freely admitted he had been having some sort of 'relationship' with a woman on there. I felt completely hurt but he honestly couldn't see what was wrong with it. To him it was just a game and didn't mean anything, although perhaps it did to the lady concerned (if she was a lady, who knows?). It did put pressure on our relationship for a while because in my eyes he had feelings for someone else, even if they were only a 'character' as he said. I think perhaps some people get into it much more than others, and sometimes it does become more than a virtual world and real feelings and emotions do get caught up. In this case, my partner has assured me it was nothing more than a big-boys game and I've banned him from going on it again. He knows how upset it made me and I trust him when he says he won't log on.