Opinion: Is the internet making infidelity easier?

Posted by admin Headlines Tuesday, July 28th, 2015

By Laju Iren

LIFE is short. Have an affair. This is the slogan of the recently hacked online dating website, Ashley Madison which specifically targets married people who want to cheat on their spouses. It might sound incredible, but this is a legitimate business with a very large following.

Even in Nigeria. Online statistics reveal that about 680 Nigerians like Ashley Madison are on Facebook. The actual number of registered users from this country may be revealed if the hackers, who call themselves The Impact Team live up to their threat. They claim to have personal details of more than 37 million cheating spouses on the site and have threatened to release customers’ real names, credit card details, nude photos and sexual fantasies of the site’s clients unless it is shut down.

Although the number of registered Nigerian users on the site is not available, at least not yet, Nigerians constitute 1.8 % of the website’s Facebook fan base.

This may not be much to go by considering the fact infidelity is a largely private thing. In fact, with the internet, infidelity is becoming more and more private. According to a recent report, 72% of men and 68% of women will cheat if they knew they would not get caught. And with a secure password, and thousands of sites to choose from, they just might have the opportunity.

A 2013 study estimates that there are more than 2,500 online dating services in the U.S. alone, with 1,000 new online dating services opening every year.

Online affairs

Some estimates say there are 8.000 competitors worldwide.According to a 2005 study of 1,828 Web users in Sweden, the prevalence of cybersex and online affairs cannot be swept under the carpet. Over thirty percent of the participants reported cybersexual experiences, and people in committed relationships were just as likely to engage in cybersex as those who were single. However, while men’s interest in cybersex decreased with age, women’s interest increased slightly, with 37 percent of women age 35 to 49 reporting cybersexual experiences compared with only a quarter of men in the same age group.
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/is-the-internet-making-infidelity-easier/#sthash.7JMwOQWW.dpuf
-Vanguardwp_posts