On-line dating is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK these days. Every day, hundreds of thousands of us log on to one or more of the growing number of websites offered; some searching for serious relationships, others for friendship and companions, and still others for casual flings and that additional ‘bit on the side’.
Some auto affiliate payout web sites claim to be purely for genuine singles seeking committed, long term relationships, other people turn a blind eye to, or even actively encourage, married or cohabiting members who may perhaps or could not use the web sites with the blessing of their spouse or partner. Of course many individuals who use on the internet dating web sites do so purely for chatting and exchanging messages and in no way meet face to face; with the steady growth of the world wide web as a communication tool since it’s inception, it has turn out to be increasingly possible for netizens to conduct deeply involved, real time commission takers relationships with persons they've in no way really met.
So what does this alter with regard to the old ways of doing issues? When does an on the net relationship develop into ‘intimate’? Can you fall in love with an avatar, and can you cheat on someone, or with somebody, who is in a various time zone?
A recent xtreme profit robot study by Dr Martin Graff of the University of Glamorgan showed that our perceptions of what does and doesn't constitute ‘cheating’ on line are affected by a variety of factors - most prominently, and perhaps unsurprisingly, by the level of details dating web page users are ready to disclose about themselves; Dr Graff explains
“From this study, it seems that the greater the level of typed disclosure, then the stronger the perception of infidelity.”
Seemingly, inside the absence of the 'nonverbal cues' on which face to face interaction relies so strongly, how much we are ready to give away about ourselves is the primary indicator of how intimate our on the internet relationships are and by extension, the degree of unfaithfulness inherent in the actions of non single website users.
Perhaps more surprisingly, the study also showed that the time of day at which on the web encounters took location was also a key factor in establishing infidelity, concluding that
“Exchanges later inside the evening had been perceived to be much more infidelitous, than those which could take location inside the day or early evening.”
Dr Graff's study is ongoing and subsequent phases will look at the issues of jealousy and trust in the context of on line relationships.
Ultimately the jury is still out on precisely what constitutes on the web infidelity and indeed relationships over the net as a entire. It is doubtful that a firm conclusion will ever be reached as the world of on line dating and relationships, as in 'real life', will generally be immensely subjective because of the differing moral standards and emotional responses of the individuals involved. Studies like Dr Graff's can having said that present a fascinating insight into the human causes and effects of the modern day world, and how these are shaped by the direction of our rapidly developing and changing communications technology.
