Relationships are a lot like prison.
From the moment you change your Facebook status from "single" to "in a relationship," you have basically signed away your rights and your freedom.
Is texting a member of the opposite sex cheating?
I remember one boy I used to see who would consistently ask me who I was texting when we were together. I solved this problem by turning my phone off, leaving it in my car or purse or just putting in on silent.
I don't know about anyone else, but for me a warning sign of trouble in any relationship should be when both partners spend more time turning their phones on than each other.
But to go back to the question: is it texting or sexting? A casual, platonic text every now and then is fine, but if I knew that my boyfriend was constantly hitting up girls, I would consider it cheating.
Oh, and to those guys whose phones are constantly blowing up, we all know that you aren't getting all those texts out of nowhere.
Do Facebook messages and inboxes equal cheating?
When I was dating my ex-boyfriend, he was once unfortunate enough to leave his Facebook account open on my computer. Although I realized what I was about to do was entirely inappropriate and sneaky, I began a complete and thorough search of all of his inbox messages from even before we started dating.
Thankfully, for him, there was nothing salacious to be found from any girls, but if there had been, I would have considered it cheating.
I understand that a guy can't help if a desperate ex sends him a "Hey, how are you?" message. However, messages like those, which I take as "Let's have sex soon," should not garner a response.
I don't want to sound like the Gestapo here, and I wouldn't freak out if my boyfriend sent an inbox to a female classmate about a homework assignment. But that begs the question: Why does it have to be an inbox? Why can't he just write it on her wall, where I can read it, too?
Are solo hangouts cheating?
I'm a firm believer in the fact that guys and girls can be simply platonic friends with no sexual attraction or possibility for something in the future. Barney and all his friends are the perfect example.
However, when you start dating someone, there have to be boundaries on what are acceptable and unacceptable interactions.
I think that no matter what, if you don't clear a hangout with your boyfriend or girlfriend because you are worried about making him or her angry or jealous, then it's a form of cheating.
If you're a guy and you want to meet up in Capen with Bertha, an adult learner from your Statistics class, then you should have no problem getting the green light from your girlfriend.
However, if you are hesitant to ask your partner if you can go for drinks with Barbie, a girl who has wanted to get with you since first grade, then you probably shouldn't even consider going.
Is dancing with someone at a club cheating?
If it were 1950 and we all still did the Sock Hop and the Mashed Potato, then I would have to say no, dancing with someone other than your significant other is not cheating.
Unfortunately, we live in 2010, when dancing is more like bumping, squeezing, grinding and humping.
In most clubs, you are likely to be intoxicated and listening to a dizzying techno remix of "Make it Clap" by Busta Rhymes. The guy or girl with whom you are dancing will mostly like have no problem getting a little handsy. How can this not be cheating?
This question brings me back to a recent episode of the Jersey Shore, where a plastered Ron humped and motor-boated countless girls while out at the club and staggered home back to his "girlfriend" Sammie.
Is it okay to just take a look?
I was once out for breakfast with my ex when the manager, a brunette hottie in her 30s, came over and asked us if everything was okay.
It was, until my boyfriend nearly fell out of his chair doing a double take as she walked away.
As a girl, I like to feel that when we are together, you don't feel the need to check out every pair of boobs that walks by, no matter how perky or big they might be. I feel like an occasional glance is human, but a constant ogling, while not exactly cheating, is most certainly a big no-no.
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