Virtual Affairs: Real Life Mess?

In her year long study of online infidelity at the University of Florida, Beatriz Avila Mileham recruited 76 men and 10 women who regularly visit chat rooms tailored to married people looking for a tryst. Most of the subjects told Mileham that initial online flirtation doesn’t count as cheating: 80 percent said they felt like they were just “talking with a computer.” However, online interactions can lead to real world relationships. Thirty percent said they had a face-to-face meeting with someone they met online. Twenty-four of those 26 people ended up having an affair.