{"id":15398,"date":"2019-05-15T09:40:53","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T17:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=15398"},"modified":"2023-05-31T01:31:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T09:31:11","slug":"are-you-micro-cheating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/are-you-micro-cheating\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Micro-Cheating? Are You or Your Partner Guilty?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ve noticed that your partner laughs a lot at texts he\u2019s getting, but he\u2019s reluctant to talk about the person sending them. Or maybe you yourself feel a little distant from your partner, spending more time on Facebook flirting with an old high school flame who flatters you in ways your partner doesn\u2019t. In <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/article-5257227\/Psychologist-explains-micro-cheating-rise.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a Daily Mail interview<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Australian psychologist <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/melanieschilling.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Melanie Schilling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> describes this as \u201cmicro-cheating\u201d \u2014 when seemingly small actions actually indicate that someone is taking the emotional focus off their primary relationship. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>What Is Micro-Cheating?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Micro-cheating isn\u2019t a new thing. Though the phrase wasn\u2019t documented on Urban Dictionary until 2008, micro-cheating is just a relatively new name for an old behavior. One that probably goes back thousands of years. It\u2019s something is the same issues couples have been dealing with for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, a married man meets a new woman and engages in \u201coutside\u201d behaviors with her \u2014 letters sealed with wax in the olden days, but today it\u2019s texts and DMs. Maybe even a hilarious meme or a gym mirror selfie. He hides the existence and\/or frequency of the interactions from his wife. The two aren\u2019t fully having an affair &#8211; there\u2019s no physical contact between them, after all. In fact, the \u201cother woman\u201d might even consider their interaction as merely friendly. But for the man, he plays down the relationship to his wife as a platonic friendship or work interaction with the secret hopes of starting an affair. Maybe he\u2019s already crushing on the new woman, emotionally betraying his partner.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Signs Your Partner May Be <\/b><b>Micro-Cheating<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following are a few signs your partner may be micro cheating. They include: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>They\u2019re secretive:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This is one of the major signs of a micro-cheating partner. When they constantly keep things away from you, this could be a major sign. <\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>They\u2019re beginning to withdraw:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when your partner is micro-cheating, they may begin to withdraw themselves from you. This may not be obvious to you initially, but if they are not telling you things the way they used to previously and are staying away from spending too much time with you, this may be a clear sign.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>They\u2019re extremely close to another person:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it is normal for everyone to have other friends, if your partner is starting to spend excessive time with someone at work or school, it could be a sign of micro-cheating. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that we have covered that, you may be wondering: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what is micro cheating definition<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">? We will be covering this below. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Does Micro-Cheating Mean<\/b><b> the Relationship is Over?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some individuals explain this as the boundaries fading off in a platonic friendship with the opposite sex which occurs naturally most of the time. However, Schilling states that if this behavior goes on, the core partner will become the secondary one. Its effect is almost as terrible as engaging in an affair. It alters the core relationship&#8217;s nature and places it in danger. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Susan Winter, a relationship expert does not agree with this as she made clear in an interview with The Independent. Although flirting in secret may undoubtedly be testing the relationship&#8217;s boundaries, she states that it does not necessarily need to be a deal-breaker. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She suggests that you have a sit down with your partner and rationally speak about what you have observed. Let them understand the way their behavior is making you feel. She also recommends that you ask your partner: \u2018\u2019How would you feel if I did something similar?\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Understanding is Key<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As stated by Leslie Becker-Phelps, a clinical psychologist, relationships usually suffer because individuals get stuck in their personal experience that they simply are unable to relate to what another individual is dealing with. Therefore, the actual test of whether or not you are engaged in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">micro-cheating<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lies in your capacity to view the experience from the eyes of your partner. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All relationships are unique. For some individuals, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">micro-cheating<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may be healthy independence for others. However, the actual method of telling if you are participating in harmful behavior is to speak to your significant other and express any concerns they may bring forth seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Becker-Phelps states that the practice of empathy helps in connecting much deeper with others. This, in turn, enriches both your relationships and social connections across the board. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Beyond <\/b><b>Micro-Cheating<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you believe the behavior of your partner has gone past <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">micro-cheating<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, don\u2019t allow the suspicions get worse. You need to put your mind at ease, and Spokeo can help in a number of ways: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Utilize a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/reverse-phone-lookup\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reverse phone lookup<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tool to search for identifying info on unknown numbers you\u2019ve found on your phone bill. <\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/email-search\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uncover accounts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on social media by searching for the username and email address of your partner. <\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/name-search\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">name search<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reveal any new phone numbers and email addresses that have been associated recently with your partner. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re here to help you shine a light on areas of uncertainty in your life, especially concerning the increasingly common question: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is micro-cheating in a relationship?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The information we have provided above would help you in finding this out. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve noticed that your partner laughs a lot at texts he\u2019s getting, but he\u2019s reluctant to talk about the person sending them. Or maybe you yourself feel a little distant&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":15418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[618],"tags":[658],"class_list":["post-15398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-relationships-advice-how-to","tag-dating-others"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Micro-Cheating? Are You or Your Partner Guilty? | Spoko<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Micro-cheating is a new name for an old behavior. 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