FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
How Couples Can Restore Trust in the Digital Age
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The digital age provides many opportunities. Some individuals take advantage by working from home. Others communicate with clients and partners around the world via Skype or Zoom.
The digital world provides connectivity, and that’s not always a good thing. For instance, some individuals look online and find cheating opportunities. Married individuals or those in serious relationships find endless chances to flirt or take things further.
Married individuals or those with dedicated partners who allow flirting or have open marriages have no issues with this. Most married people want monogamy, though, and they become upset or even furious when they learn about flirting or infidelity.
40% of online affairs become real-life ones, which is why married couples and those in monogamous relationships must conduct themselves appropriately online. Let’s discuss how they can restore trust in each other in the following article.
How Couples Lose the Spark and Intimacy Decreases
First, let’s review how online flirting becomes something more. You might have two people who marry each other, or they’re living together, and they’re monogamous. They may feel happy with that situation. They might even stay faithful for many years.
Sometimes, though, life throws some changes their way they did not anticipate. Maybe when they have kids, they don’t maintain their physical relationship. Perhaps one person works very long hours, and the other stays home with the kids. They’re both exhausted all the time.
They might have time to exchange a few words in the evenings, but they don’t have date nights. There’s no romance. One or the other might feel like there’s no real connection or intimacy there anymore.
How Flirting Becomes Real-Life Infidelity
In these situations, one person or the other might decide they’ll create a social media account and won’t tell the other person. Maybe they just want some acknowledgment that they’re still attractive.
They feel like some harmless flirting will let them regain their confidence. If they’re older now and have put on some pounds or they have some gray hairs or wrinkles, they want someone who will say they still look desirable.
Flirtatious messages can become phone calls or explicit pictures sent via their smartphones. They might even contact this new romantic interest via a Skype call or Facetime with them on their smartphone.
From that point, one or the other suggesting a meeting might come next. If this romantic interest lives in the same town or city, the person violating their partner’s faith in them has reached a critical juncture.
Social Media Account Transparency
This is a familiar story in 2023. The new connectivity that the world shares makes cheating easy if someone wants it.
Two people who share their lives and want continued intimacy must work at it sometimes. With kids in the picture, work, errands, and just a generally packed schedule, the two partners must choose each other every day and remain committed.
They must make date nights happen. They must find babysitters for the kids and have special nights at least a couple of times per week.
They must also remain transparent with their social media accounts. They should allow each other access and have no hidden profiles. They must also not flirt with colleagues, friends, or any random people they meet online. It’s not easy, but a strong character means a firm commitment.
Phone and Computer Transparency
Married couples or partners must allow the person with whom they live to access their smartphone when they ask for it. They should not have secrets hidden on their phones, tablets, desktops, laptops, or any other device they use for communicating with individuals outside the home.
This transparency shows each person the other has no secrets. This policy shows each person their partner still loves and cherishes them.
Each partner can also do things for the other one. They might pick up flowers or a little gift, not just for a wedding anniversary or a birthday, but for no reason. That way, the other person will see their partner’s love and devotion endure, and they won’t consider cheating.
Each partner must do one other thing. If they feel unloved or underappreciated, they must tell the other person. That’s perhaps even more important.
It’s not always easy having tough conversations, but if one partner feels the marriage has hit a rough patch or they no longer love the other person, they must tell them. That shows integrity. You can split up amiably without infidelity forcing the issue.
