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What counts as cheating to you? There’s a pretty clear understanding about what counts as physical cheating, but when it comes to emotional cheating, people don’t always agree about where to draw the line. TikTok users have been debating this topic of “micro cheating,” and the hashtag #microcheating has nearly 26-million views on the platform.
According to relationship counselor Alicia Munoz, micro-cheating is the act of “cultivating, in small ways, inappropriate intimate connections outside your relationship.” So instead of having sex or kissing another person, micro-cheating is doing things that break “emotional exclusivity.” And TikTokers are arguing about what counts and what doesn’t, with some offering examples of micro-cheating as:
- Not telling someone the status of your relationship
- Having inside jokes with someone who isn’t your partner
- Not inviting your partner to events
- Secretly messaging someone
- And even liking someone’s social media posts
The thing about micro-cheating is that it's different things to different people, so it’s important to establish clear boundaries with your partner to make sure you’re both on the same page. You get to create the rules that work for your relationship, so there’s no ambiguity and what you both consider okay is what goes. As long as you and your S.O. agree, leave the TikTokers to debate on what counts and what doesn’t.
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