Abstract

HAACK, Karla Rafaela  and  FALCKE, Denise. Infidelity.com: infidelity in romantic relationships mediated and unmediated by Internet . Psicol. rev. (Belo Horizonte) [online]. 2013, vol.19, n.2, pp. 305-327. ISSN 1677-1168.  http://dx.doi.org/DOI-10.5752/P.1678-9563.2013v19n2p305.

The Internet offers many opportunities for people to connect and socialize. In this sense, it provides these people a way of contacting each others, which favors the establishment of new relationships, but also of infidelity. This study aims to investigate the conceptions of infidelity among Internet users who were in romantic relationships mediated by the Internet and romantic relationships that are not mediated by the Internet. The study has a quantitative approach, with comparative design, with the participation of 86 Internet users, with ages from 18 to 55 from 13 Brazilian states. The conceptions of the aspects that define what is considered infidelity for participants in relationships mediated and unmediated by the Internet were quite similar, however the results indicated that people who have romantic relationships on the Internet reveal that infidelity is more present in this context, especially because of the lack of more precise definition of an exclusive marital contract.

Keywords : Fidelity; Internet; Romantic relationship; Communication mediated by computer.

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