Put down that smartphone. Showing your device too much love could lead your partner to infidelity.
According to a recent survey conducted by Victoria Milan, a dating website that provides assistance for people looking to discreetly cheat on their significant others, 45 percent of Victoria Milan users are unfaithful because they feel there is a lack of attention from their partners.
The survey showed that about 50 percent of people on the website shared the feeling of having an unattentive partner.
Among the 6,000 Victoria Milan users that participated in the survey, about 60 percent were male, and about 70 percent of all participants indicated they would not be unfaithful at all without the help of technology.
In an email interview, Aishah Vassallo, the public relations manager of Victoria Milan, said paying more attention to a device than a partner can weaken relationships, “which can lead us many times to look at what is missing in our relationship,” she said.
“At the same time, the use of portable devices and websites like VM can make cheating more discreet and easier than before.”
However, some UF students and professors are dubious about the merits of the survey. Laurie Mintz, a UF psychology professor specializing in sexual health and behavior, said the results of the survey cannot be generalized to the public outside of the website’s users.
“All we know, then, is that for people [that] are already using technology to help them cheat on their partners, smartphone use may also contribute to the problem of cheating,” she said.
While many students agree that cheating is an extreme reaction, some think the problem applies to different demographics.
“I feel like it’s more a problem with older married couples because when you’re our age, you usually haven’t been with someone long enough to know everything about them so you focus on them more,” said Vivek Kumar, an 18-year-old UF finance sophomore. “Still, if I had this problem, it wouldn’t urge me to cheat.”
However, Alex Borkholder, a 19-year-old UF political science sophomore, disagrees.
“I see a lot of college-aged couples out and on their phone instead of communicating with each other,” he said. “You don’t fix problems by cheating. You talk to your partner.”
A version of this story ran on page 11 on 11/21/2013 under the headline "Stay off your phone or fear a straying partner"
