Sadly, cheating has now become a common occurrence in relationships. Often it is hard to understand the reason behind it. It could be because of the feeling of being trapped in a relationship, sexual frustration, or just because they are unhappy with who they are as a person.
The term ‘‘emotional cheating’’ captures the idea that cheating is not only about sex but it can also be about emotional and romantic attraction to another person or emotional and romantic commitments made to someone else. However, there are other types of cheating that can be believed to be on a smaller scale and that would be called micro-cheating.
Why do people cheat on their partners, in general?
There are three main reasons that keep repeating themselves when it comes to a relationship that suffers from one or the other partner is a cheater. The first reason people cheat is that they don’t feel loved. They are not getting enough attention from their partner. Sometimes, the partner is constantly working and they are not seeing them as often as they would like to.
The second most common reason for cheating is that the person wants to experience more of life. They are bored with their current relationship and want something new. The third main reason people cheat is insecurity or thinking that their partner doesn’t find them attractive anymore.
However, there could be other reasons too or simply the fact that you’re with a selfish person or a narcissist that will never be content with only one partner. That is not really a big problem as there are people that agree that they need more partners and choose to be in open relationships. But, it will become a big problem if the person that gets feelings like this does not take the time to express their needs and feelings to their partner and together find a middle ground.
They instead quickly resort to cheating behind their partner’s back despite the emotional repercussions and damage that it could cause them. In this case alone, you will be dealing with not only a cheater but also a deceiver and liar.
So what is micro-cheating?
Micro-cheating is a term that has been around for many years. It applies to a person who engages in emotional or physical infidelity, typically while in a committed relationship.
When we think of infidelity, we often think of someone who is physically involved with someone else. There are many cases where a person may not be sexually involved with another person but they may still be emotionally involved. This could happen on social media or by texting and that would be called emotional cheating or having an emotional affair.
On the other hand, micro-cheating can be when a person betrays their partner not by engaging in physical acts but by looking at other women for example with sexual intentions and thoughts. Or even by trying to go out of their way to text someone or flirt with them. These types of people are cheaters in the making or men that are not fully cheating yet but have one foot out of the door already.
They are waiting for the right opportunity and the right person to jump on their prey and cheat. However, we cannot blame them for an act that still didn’t take place or for their thoughts that we are not even sure of. That’s why It can be difficult to define micro-cheating and there are so many different ways it can manifest itself.
– Examples of micro-cheating:
People may also use this term to describe behavior such as checking out other people’s social media profiles, looking at other people’s texts, and/or flirting during a committed relationship.
Or even leading someone to believe that you’re emotionally available without directly saying it or by never mentioning your partner and continuously being courteous and borderline flirty with them.
This type of behavior in itself can be questionable when a person knows what they’re doing, but cannot help enjoying the opposite gender’s attention or creating chemistry when they clearly cannot pursue something more. And, that’s because they’re in a committed relationship and not really fully cheaters either.
How to Prevent Micro-Cheating?
Micro-cheating is a modern phenomenon in which a person engages in a series of activities that are acceptable within the context of their relationship but which would not be considered appropriate if their partner was present. It is often done in secret and without the knowledge or consent of the partner. Apart from being an emotional betrayal, it can also lead to physical betrayal.
In this section, we will go over some common examples of micro-cheating and how to stop it from happening in your relationship before it becomes too big.
1- Control your behavior online
It is important to note that even though Micro-cheating does not have to happen online necessarily. however, the term originated from the popular dating app Tinder. It can be defined as everyday behavior that may not seem like cheating, but when done over time, adds up. These behaviors can include looking at other people’s profiles, talking to other people online or in person, and reading emails or texts from other people.”
This definition of micro-cheating has grown and developed with the introduction of new technologies and social media platforms such as Snapchat and Facebook. So one way of stopping yourself from doing it would be to refrain from flirting online / liking the opposite gender photos if you are straight, or having secret social media profiles that your partner is not aware of.
2- Ask yourself: Would you be pleased if your partner did the same?
The safest way to stop micro-cheating is to ask yourself if your behavior would’ve hurt or upset your partner if they knew or if they were present. Whether you’re holding the door open for a lady and checking her out while she passes, or offering your seat to a woman while letting her fragrance caress your senses you should always keep yourself in check and wonder if your partner would’ve appreciated your act or if you wouldn’t mind if she did the same.
What does it mean when your partner micro-cheats?
People may engage in micro-cheating without the intention to leave their current relationship. If they know that their current relationship is going well and they don’t want to jeopardize it, sometimes people will engage in small acts of infidelity like having an emotional affair or engaging in sexual acts with someone else.
Micro-cheating can also be done with the intention to end one’s current relationship. This is because people may think that cheating on the side will give them enough ammunition to leave before things get messy between them and their significant other.
So be aware that your partner’s way of packing their bags before they leave you, might be to micro-cheat first and see what is their sexual value in the dating scene before they take the full jump and break up. or, they could also be looking for the next best thing in the room or a convenient potential partner or thrilling love story before they break the break-up news to you.