What is "micro-cheating"? And does it really count?

This is where “micro-cheating” might come into play. The relationship experts we spoke to define micro-cheating as behaviors that hover near the mutually agreed upon boundaries in your relationship that comprise fidelity — from logging on to a dating site to see what’s out there, to forging emotional relationships that are more emotionally charged and sexually tinged than a typical, platonic connection.

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Ty Tashiro, psychologist and author of “The Science of Happily Ever After: What Really Matters in the Quest for Enduring Love”, defines micro-cheating as “a relatively small act of emotional infidelity with someone outside of a person’s committed relationship” that mostly occurs through occurs through apps, texting, or online interactions.

But is micro-cheating, cheating? Tashiro believes so. “Though micro-cheating does not involve physical contact with someone outside the committed relationship, it’s important to avoid the temptation to overemphasize the ‘micro’ part of the phrase and remember that ‘cheating’ is the operative word,” he says. “When one betrays a partner’s trust there are always emotional consequences for the partner’s well-being and the integrity of the relationship.”

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