Your boyfriend “liked” an Instagram model’s bikini photos. Is it a betrayal? Harmless flirting? Or is it just a little red heart? Most everything we do online leaves a trail, from tagging a friend in a photo to liking a TikTok. For people in relationships, those breadcrumbs can become a sign of infidelity – real or perceived.
“Micro-cheating,” an internet-era term for small acts of betrayal, is the subject of an endless stream of content on social media such as TikTok and Instagram. Because so much of it happens online, couples are monitoring and investigating each other’s digital habits for signs of disloyalty. The wealth of digital interactions at our fingertips make it tough to tell which ones are appropriate and which cross a line.
With the new, contradictory rules of the road come violations of privacy and inappropriate surveillance, some relationship experts say. How much of a partner’s online life are we entitled to, and how much privacy is appropriate to give up inside a relationship? Every relationship has different boundaries. Credit: iStock What counts as cheating these days? Rana Coniglio, an Arizona-based therapist who works almost exclusively with Gen Z, says clients often come to her with concerns about their partner’s online behaviour.
If someone’s Snapchat score – a measure of activity on the app – goes up while they’re at work, does that mean they’re cheating? Does following a model on X mean your partner is shady? Who are they ch.
