Online Affairs Part 1: What Is Cyber Infidelity? | Ask Dr. Talal Therapist’s Edition

Online affairs — also known as cyber infidelity — have become an increasingly prevalent form of betrayal in the digital age. Yet despite their growing frequency, they are often minimized or misunderstood, with some dismissing them as “not real” affairs because they may not involve physical contact. In clinical practice, however, the emotional damage caused by online affairs is just as significant as that caused by physical infidelity, and in some cases even more so.

In this Therapist’s Edition of Ask Dr. Talal, Dr. Talal H. Alsaleem, PsyD, LMFT introduces the first installment of a four-part series on online affairs. He defines what constitutes cyber infidelity, explores why it is often underestimated, and begins to lay the clinical groundwork for understanding how digital betrayal develops and what makes it so emotionally destructive to the betrayed partner.