What Really Counts As Cheating? New Study Weighs In

Cheating: the worst thing you can do in a relationship. But wait....wait a minute. What really counts as cheating? Do you and your boo see eye to eye on things or do you need to have a conversation? It's quite obvious that almost everyone sees sexual intercourse, or any sexual contact as cheating. But then there's this really fine line that confuses all of us. LAWD. 

Does watching porn count as cheating? Texting someone and keeping it a secret? Wanting to be with someone else but not acting on it? Can simply hanging out with someone else count as cheating?

These are the questions worth answering, y'all. Listen, it's clearly a case-by-case basis depending on your relationship, right? I mean, I guess it's not cheating if your babe hangs out with his ex without doing anything sexual...but there's still something suspicious going on. Trust your gut boo. 

This study from Taylor & Francis Online has revealed a lot about how differently men and women think when it comes to cheating. The study took 354 undergraduate students and had them rank a series of actions as 1 (not cheating at all) to 4 (OMG, totally cheating.) The actions included things such as kissing or intercourse, fantasizing about someone else, falling in love with someone else and ignoring it, emotional actions, or going to a strip club / watching porn. 

Well...let's just say the results aren't surprising. It stated that most men only see sexual acts with someone else as cheating whereas women are more likely to count both sexual and emotional acts.

“This pattern of finding suggests that women are more sensitive than men to possible violations related to infidelity within the confines of a romantic relationship,” the study writes. “Those higher on the communion scale are more sensitive to possible infidelity, possibly as a way of safeguarding their relationship with a significant other.”

Interesting enough, both genders didn't seem to mind fantasizing that much as long as it wasn't excessive or taken too seriously. Like, it's okay if you think Idris Elba is super hot and all, but don't let it take over your life.

At the end of the day, what counts as cheating is all up to you and your partner. If your boo checks out another girl walking down the street, is it cheating? Nah, but it's not like you want that happening. What do you think counts as cheating? Let's gab.