5 Elements that Provoke Emotional Infidelity

The relationship of Will (Matthew Morrison), the music club director and Emma (Jayma Mays), the school guidance counselor at the start of the comedy-drama series typifies emotional infidelity. Both were into someone else but there was a strong emotional attraction between them. There was no physical involvement but their growing feelings for each other pulled them closer and aroused jealousy in their partners.

A lot of factors can explain why this form of deception occurs. Five of the possible reasons are stated below.

Dissatisfaction in current relationship

When people commit themselves into a relationship, they bring with them their needs, wishes and expectations. When these aren’t met, they tend to seek fulfillment through other people. In one of these interactions, they might desire a quality of an opposite sex that their partner doesn’t possess. This pleasant feeling can begin the spark of an implicit relationship.

The we’re-just-friends mentality

Attraction stems from knowledge. One understands and appreciates someone better when one knows who the other truly is. Friendship may start innocently but as months pass by, it can spring into something romantically important. Consequently, one might fantasize of a special relationship or an intimate night together.

Longing of a past relationship

Some people are still stuck with their relationships in the past. The memories keep coming back despite their present in-a-relationship status. Nostalgia gets in the way when it affects the way the involved handles the current relationship. When a person tries to revive a past love affair with his current love interest, it can be considered a form of unfaithfulness.

Technology change

Changes in technology has brought convenience both in managing long distance relationships and in straying away. If nowadays it’s much easier to go soul searching because of the Internet, betrayal can also be a matter of clicks. Since people can be anonymous in interacting with other Internet users, they aren’t scared of revealing their real identity. This notion can be a force that drives a committed person to schedule regular chat sessions or cyber stimulation with a stranger whom they have mutual understanding with.

Prevalence of pornography

Studies and theories prove that thoughts are significantly affected by the environment. With the prevalence of pornography on media, the number of aggressive and sexually inclined individuals has increased. When an attached person is into pornography, he/she feeds himself/herself with perceptions on ideal sex. When this becomes a habit, he/she will regularly look for it and eventually, the act can resort to emotional infidelity.

It is easier to deny emotional infidelity because there is lack of physical participation but still, it is a kind of betrayal that hurts the deceived. However, those who are practicing it must realize that they are still hurting their partner with this kind of betrayal. If they have major issues, they must properly address them instead of entertaining ideas of seeing someone else. Escaping into relationship fantasies won’t do any good in the relationship.