According to a recent study by the Gfk institute, for many people a virtual interaction can be as satisfying as a real human contact. This is a somewhat surprising finding in an era that tends increasingly to technology and multiple means of communication. In this case, can a desire for infidelity be filled by a purely virtual relationship? This is what Gleeden, the European leader in extramarital encounters, with nearly 3 million members, wanted to find out. Here is the breakdown.
Posted a month ago, the GfK study was conducted with 27,000 people across 22 countries. Its result is clear: almost a quarter of respondents (23%) believe that virtual interaction has the value of a human contact. Yes, for many of us, visiting a museum from our computer screen would be as satisfying as being there in person and chatting in a chatroom would be equivalent to words exchanged in person. With this in mind, the extramarital dating site Gleeden wanted to know more and interviewed more than 8,000 members* to understand if it was the same for extra-marital relations.
Four in ten women are satisfied with an exclusively virtual extramarital affair
The site first asked members if a simple virtual relationship would be enough to satisfy their desires. And this seems to be the case for more than four out of ten women (41%), who say they do not need a physical relationship to break the routine of their official couple. Of these, almost half (48%) explain that they are only looking for a flirt. Yes, many married women want to reconnect with seduction without taking the step of a physical relationship. Others prefer a virtual relationship simply because they consider it less risky. This is the case for 24% of women surveyed. Finally 19% of them simply do not feel at ease with the idea of taking action and just want to talk or exchange confidences.
Men want more than just exchanging messages
For men, however, a screen relationship is not enough. At least say that’s what 72% of surveyed members said. And for those who, like women, are satisfied with a virtual relationship, the reasons are not the same either. Indeed, a majority (43%) say they stick to sexy exchanges via chat only because they believe it is less risky. Others seek to seduce but do not expect anything more than just flirting (36%). Finally, 14% of men feel more comfortable in a platonic relationship and only want to discuss or exchange confidences.
Is chatting the same as cheating?
Maia Mazaurette, author, columnist and sexpert for Gleeden responds to this survey:
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“Can we still talk about virtual relationships when most of us spend their day online, and fall asleep and wake up with our smartphones? Or when you know that almost half of us sometimes think about someone else when they make love? It seems difficult in 2016 to maintain a clear distinction between what is virtual and what is real… except in the areas of sexuality, sports, food: in short, things connected with the human body. What I find fascinating in this survey is that it is clear that men and women have a different relationship to the physical manifestations of infidelity. For women, just thinking is already (in a way) cheating. For them, the considerations are more pragmatic! |
This finding joins other studies showing that men are more sensitive to physical infidelity and women to emotional infidelity. Researchers in evolution believe that this is explained by reproduction strategies: a man wants to know that he is the only one fertilising a particular female, to ensure his own successors. A woman wants to know that a man will be devoted to her so that he does not leave her alone with the burden of a family. All this seems very logical in the end!“.
The perception of virtual relationships seems to be evolving over time. In the latest Gleeden survey conducted with Ifop only a small majority of respondents declared that exchanging sexy messages with someone other than their partner counted as infidelity . This downward trend is expected to increase with the more and more obvious integration of new technologies in everyday life. And a mistress or lover in virtual reality? Infidelity or not?
*Online survey conducted from March 25 to 1 April 2016 with 4003 men and 4014 women members of Gleeden.