At the End of the Day

After examining the relationship between the internet and fidelity, I had hoped to be able to come up with a grand conclusion about the effects of the internet on marriage and relationships. It is easy to assume that because of the increased communication and anonymity provided by the Internet, infidelity would be more common than ever. However, what I actually found is that the internet just enhances preexisting aspects of infidelity and fidelity. With the internet, people can now meet and start relationships with greater ease, but they can also find marriage counseling and advise with greater ease and at virtually no cost compared to traditional counseling. The Internet also allows people to avoid "toxic" relationships with the proliferation of Dont Date Him/Her sites.

Some people may attribute the skyrocketing divorce rates of recent years partly to the internet. However, one should avoid making these assumptions. Divorce rates may be increasing as much due to the stress of modern life as to the ease one now has to be unfaithful. The internet may provide an outlet to infidelities that would have occured anyway rather than sparking infidelities that wouldnt have happened in an unconnected world. The point is, no study will ever be able to know which is the case. Instead, we must accept this web world for what it is and embrace it, bad with the good.

Just as one cannot assume that the Internet is all bad or all good, one cannot assume that the Internet is all bad or all good for relationships. Just like relationships, the Internet has its ups and downs, its good sides and its bad. The best thing users can do is recognize this duality of the Internet and use it accordingly. Armed with the information that the Internet allows infidelities to occur, users can avoid the aspects of the Internet that might lead to infidelity. And if an infidelity does occur, users know that the Internet provides hope after the fall and can use the Internet as a tool to change their relationships for the better. By knowing the threats that come with the internet, one can better avoid them and use the internet for the real benefits it provides.