With rapid change in lifestyle in growing cities like Ranchi, here comes the alarming news—social media is causing digital infidelity and thus, leading to divorces. Wondering what digital infidelity isIJ When people access social media to cross marital boundaries, digital infidelity occurs.
“Suggestive chatting, sending intimate messages, images, videos or when forming an emotional bond through email, Whatsapp or Facebook with someone random or known other than the partner can lead to separation or divorce. In few cases, people who only chat online and do not meet physically, do not consider this as real infidelity but the consequences are not less dangerous,” said Mahua Maji, Chairperson, State Women Commission.
Maji explained the correlation between the widespread of internet and the increasing number of infidelity amongst partners in the city of late. “The families who often approach our body for reconciliation or separation, have talked about how one of the partners has felt cheated due to their spouse’ extramarital affairs on the internet. Though, these so-called extramarital affairs may not mean a physical cheating or real cheating but only an emotional one. Even a few women from the neighbouring villages have approached us with audio clip recordings from their husband’s phones that prove their extramarital affairs,” said Maji.
To clearly state the immensity of violence of the marital bonds, Maji cited one of the hearing sessions held recently. She narrated one of the incidents wherein a young couple from Begusarai had approached the Women’s commission a couple of months ago. “The husband wanted a divorce from his wife and was ready to face any consequences for the same. Reason was that the husband had found out that the wife was having multiple affairs on the internet and he had gone through all the chats. Thus, he did not want to have to do anything with the girl though he knew that the girl had not met any of the men. He found emotional affairs also so hurtful that he was devastated and just wanted to end the relationship and so he did,” said Maji.
In another such case, a young housewife was having an online affair with a man from another state. According to Maji, she lied to her husband and went ahead to meet him and vacation with him on the pretext of attending a childhood friend’s marriage. This also led to the divorce between the couple soon after the husband found out about the same.
Maji closely works with Kiran Kumari, a senior advocate and a member at the Women Commission office in Dhurwa wherein she hears several cases almost every day and attempts to resolve them in just one or two sessions that otherwise can take up to several years in any other courts in the country. “There is certainly about 20 % jump in such cases where social media has played a significant role in breaking up families, especially young couples. Families from all castes, religions, income groups and age are to be seen here with their share of sad stories of infidelity. There is a rise in the cheating cases in the city as compared to last year and this might even go further up. We try to make couples understand to refrain from such futile online affairs and be loyal to their partners. If this continues as in most big cities, Ranchi would also soon emerge to be following the same trend as could be seen in the country,” said Maji.
Kiran Kumari also stressed on the fact that women, especially the housewives were earlier restricted to their homes and had no or less friends unlike today. “Nowadays, women are more free and open-minded. They are using their free time to be online and explore the world sitting at home. This all leads to them getting very used to a concept called back up husbands or emotional friends. Infidelity, one has to understand does not only have to be a physical affair, even emotional attachments like these have broken up families more often,” said Kiran Kumari.