How Infidelity Affects Society

How Infidelity Affects Society

Introduction

From the time that the Earth evolved into a home ground for humans, man has chosen to live in groups and couples. With time, this need for companionship developed into customary rituals bound by love and affection as well as religion and societal cultures. Marriages became the binding contract for couples wishing to spend their lives together and engaging in physical relations to reproduce and expand their families. With time, the concept of love emerged and people started to separate themselves from animals who elope at the first chance they get (Hertenstein & Keltner, 2009). Man realized that being faithful to the other partner of the marriage is of utmost importance for sustainability of that relationship and the connected family. However, man is just another warm blooded animal and this gets proven true every time a person steps out of the boundaries of married life and engages in illegal and immoral sexual activities with another person.

Infidelity, also known as 'Extradyadic' involvement (EDI), can be operationalized as having sexual encounters with an individual outside of one's primary relationship in which monogamy is expected. EDI is a prevalent phenomenon in romantic relationships, and when discovered, can elicit a great deal of distress and conflict in both partners. Infidelity is considered a serious relationship breach that commonly bothers individuals in committed relationships. Estimates suggest that 25 percent of Americans commit infidelity while married. Infidelity is the most common cause of divorce and often causes substantial stress. Research has revealed that 25% of married men and 15% of married women admit to having committed infidelity at least once (Whisman & Snyder, 2007).

Impact on the society

Infidelity is a curse upon the family of the person who commits it and at the same time, on the society that the cheating person lives in. infidelity impacts the society in several ways, some of which have been discussed in this paper. First and foremost, the children of the person committing infidelity usually have troubled lives. They find it hard to cope with the stress and burden as well as the shame that accompanies association to an infidel. Additionally, infidelity also increases the crime ratio of a society because cheated partners may try to seek revenge (Shackelford & Buss, 1997). This revenge comes in the form of murder, kidnapping, theft or damage to life or property and ultimately causes trouble for the society. Additionally, infidelity causes instability in the society. The person who has been cheated usually involves himself or herself in activities such as drinking, gambling, reckless driving, suicide, theft and lack of responsible acts. In short, the cheated person becomes a burden to society. Subsequently, the infidel develops a new confidence level and may commit the same act again with some other person. Since there is no law stopping an infidel from another marriage or further eloping, the cycle may continue.

Another impact of infidelity on society is the shame and disgrace it brings. The infidel does not only defame and disgrace ...