Charles Teves
- Liking other people’s photos while in a relationship is micro-cheating
- Commenting with emojis can also be considered as cheating
- Even dressing up to look good is also micro-cheating
You can see and connect to millions of people when you’re on a social media platform. Liking someone’s pictures seems perfectly harmless to some but it can lead to some problems, including accusations of cheating on your partner.
The term ‘Micro-cheating’ has been used extensively recently.
Micro-cheating is when you do things subconsciously without knowing that these actions can lead to infidelity.
“Micro-cheating happens when you create small opportunities for affectionate behaviors that fall outside your relationship,” says sex and relationship therapist Tammy Nelson, PhD.
Examples of micro-cheating include liking other people’s photos of the opposite sex, making comments about their looks, and even just dropping emojis.
NYC-based Psychotherapist and Relationship Specialist Lisa Brateman says that micro-cheating is a little harsh or difficult to manage because most people who are in relationships do this constantly.
These people see micro-cheating as harmless but end up destroying their relationships.
To avoid micro-cheating from escalating, couples need to discuss the limitations of the things that they do on social media platforms.
Micro-cheating can also include instances where you dress a little nicer when you are about to meet up with a certain person, not telling your partner that you will be drinking after work, deleting messages out of fear that your partner would read it.
Nelson states that, “You cross the line if you think your partner would feel uncomfortable if they saw your actions.”
If you yourself suspect that your partner is also committing this, then you should just be honest with one another, says clinical psychologist Janis Abrahms Spring, PhD, author of After the Affair.
Micro-cheating is nothing more than feeling more attractive and is not really cheating, but the continuous practice of this will escalate into something worse.
