You’ve already met the man or woman you love and, perhaps, want to spend the rest of your life with. You have fun together, you have memories together, you have dreams for your future together. When you close your eyes and picture your family, you see the two of you together. You’ve even told your online friends about your relationship. But is there someone there that you tell all the good, bad, and, ugly to? Someone who you confide in, regardless of the status of your relationship? Is this someone you’ve never even met in real life or who you barely ever see? Some people do have online friends who they socialize with in various online environments—chat rooms, message boards, social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter), in the comment sections of different blogs, maybe even texting on cell phones. They’re people who exist in the real world, who know your likes and dislikes, all about your family, but who maybe you’ve only ever seen in the two-dimensional landscape of the World Wide Web. Is that okay? Is that weird? Is that cheating? There’s been a lot of talk about emotional cheating in the past few years. If you have a friend at work, online, or someone you just keep in touch with by phone, can you actually be cheating on your significant other? Honestly, I don’t think there’s a definitive answer to that. You have to check in with yourself and ask yourself those questions. Are you telling this person things that you feel like maybe you should be telling your girlfriend or boyfriend? Why don’t you? If he or she knew, would it cause a problem? Ask questions, give honest answers, and then decide how you’re going to proceed with your relationships online and off.