Think of micro cheating as halfway cheating or quasi cheating.

Micro cheating: likely this is a term that you've never heard of before. If that is the case then you've come to the right place! We are going to break down exactly what micro cheating is with examples. Basically, micro cheating is any sort of activity, like dressing up for someone or being all secretive about a friendship, that isn't explicitly cheating but could be considered a "gateway" to cheating. Does that make sense? We'll be elaborating further to really help you understand!

By the end of this article you'll be able to identify all sorts of micro cheating and know if you are involved in any!

The truth of the matter is this: you likely micro cheat all the time. Yes, even if you had no idea what micro cheating is. This is because micro cheating is often super subconscious. What that means is you may not even realize you are doing it! This can also mean that micro cheating can feel elusive or vague, because it's hard to know when you are doing it.

But don't worry too much; just because you don't realize you are doing it doesn't make it all bad. Despite the word "cheating," micro cheating often isn't taken super seriously by partners or lovers. Phew, what a relief right!

Below we are going to list some of the most basic and common forms of micro cheating. After reading through them you may start thinking to yourself that they sound like flirting. And, well, you would be right.

Micro cheating itself was born out of flirting. However, when flirting is taken to a next level from being casual and meaningless to something more, that is where the concept of micro cheating can come into play. So don't worry all of you flirts out there! We still want you to stay your sexy, flirty selves. At the same time, though, it's important to examine your flirting habits to make sure they don't too often veer into micro cheating territory.

Let's say you make a new friend and they ask you about your relationship status. You are in a serious relationship but instead you lie and say you are single. Why would you do that? You aren't necessarily embarrassed about your relationship or wanting to keep it a secret. But in your subconscious you are wanting to seem available for this other person. Except, well, you aren't actually available! This is a great example of micro cheating. By making yourself seem single to this new friend, you are basically acting like you are open to possibilities there. But whether or not you follow through with them is a whole other story, of course.

We are all about dressing up for ourselves but how about when we dress up for someone else? Usually we have special outfits that we know our partners love. But what about someone else? A co-worker at the office or someone you see on your commute home? If you are starting to think about making yourself look extra good for these people it basically means you are wanting to appear attractive to them and maybe even to literally get them to take notice and act on it. However, if you are in a relationship does that mean you are wanting to start an affair? Or just keep this micro cheating going?

This is one of the easiest forms of micro cheating and something that we all do all the time. Let's say there is someone online that you love talking to all the time. You chat with them, always like their photos, and are generally carrying on an online relationship of sorts with them. All the while you have an actual relationship in real life, though. Do these online chats and likes means something or is it just all fun and games? Be careful because it can be really easy for an online friendship or bit of micro cheating to start to feel like something more. You need to decide if you want to keep it all online or not.

Have you ever had a friend that you've kept from your partner? You don't know why because you are usually fairly open with your partner but for whatever reason you don't want them knowing about this particular person. This is a great example of micro cheating. The fact that you don't want your partner to know means that you feel like there could be something more there with your friendship or you don't want your partner to even know they exist so then they won't even think about this new person. While you are certainly allowed to do in your private life what you want, be careful with keeping things from your partner. It can be hard to keep secrets sometimes!

We've just mentioned being secretive about a new friend (or maybe something more), which brings us to our last micro cheating example: being secretive in general. This could be about anything and everything. Mostly it means that you are starting to want to keep things from your partner, like who you interact with or what you do after work or who your friends are. Now, of course you are entitled to keep as much or as little of your life as private from your partner as you like. But sometimes starting to get secretive can mean that you are subconsciously wanting to hide something or keep something away from your partner.

Now that we've gone over the nine main types of micro cheating you are probably thinking that none of these things sound like a big deal at all. In fact, are they even cheating? The word we mentioned before was "flirting," and yes these most certainly do feel like flirting. And even if they are a step up or slightly more serious than flirting, doesn't that still make them harmless? We tend to agree with this sentiment, however a lot of what makes something micro cheating is how you are handling it. For example, having a friend who you have a crush on isn't a big deal; it's totally normal to have crushes. However, if your first instinct is to keep it from your partner and make sure they never find out, that's the part that makes it micro cheating. Does that make sense? Another way to think about it is: it isn't necessarily the action but how you are reacting to or treating the action.

To continue on from our prior point, how serious micro cheating is taken also really depends on the person. Some people think that even looking at another person is bad and could be considered cheating (something that we totally don't agree with and consider a red flag for a healthy relationship), but other people don't mind if you flirt with other people or have crushes on the side. Perhaps you read through that list and some of the examples jumped out as more serious than others. And your partner may feel similarly or different. Basically it totally depends on the person and the relationship! What makes something micro cheating and what doesn't can also change throughout a relationship. Something that you would flag as micro cheating at the beginning may not feel like micro cheating later on in your relationship.

Another thing to consider is who is doing the micro cheating. We've been talking this entire time as if you, the reader, are the one doing the micro cheating, which means you are in control. And in control is a great place to be. However, what if your partner was the one doing the micro cheating? Would it bother you? Would you even consider it micro cheating? These are important questions to ask yourself. You may want to go back through the example list and imagine all of the examples as your partner doing them and see how it makes you feel. You may surprise yourself!

We've been discussing the seriousness, or lack thereof, of micro cheating. So does that mean that micro cheating could ruin a relationship? We tend to think not, as micro cheating almost always tends to be little more than harmless flirting. However, what is important to watch out for is the micro cheating can easily lead to more serious cheating or even a full blown affair. If there is a new person that you are dressing up for and keeping from your partner, chances are that could develop into something more serious. And whether an affair ruins a relationship or not also depends on the couple and the situation. It is always good to remember that micro cheating can turn into something more serious.

With the word "cheating" taking up half of micro cheating, it's almost like they want you to automatically assume that it is going to be a bad thing. After all, most of society things that general cheating is a bad thing so the same must go for micro cheating right? Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way! Why not try to see micro cheating for what it really is: just a little bit of harmless flirting. Another thing that you can try, if you feel that you are participating in some micro cheating or feel like your partner might be, is to be more open about it. When you notice yourself starting to micro cheat, ask yourself why and flip it around and make it more public. Instead of hiding that person from your partner, just tell them. Or let them in on the crush. That could be super fun and sexy!

Ultimately trust is what will keep your micro cheating feel more positive and fun. After all, it's the fear of an affair or full blown cheating that can make micro cheating feel bad or wrong. If you and your partner trust each other and agree that a little flirting or even micro cheating is not only okay but encouraged then you likely won't feel the need to want to hide things at all. You'll also feel more secure and respected in your relationship, which is a great feeling to have! Like with all aspects of relationships, trust really goes a long way.

Micro cheating isn't automatically a precursor to cheating. It's definitely not a "gateway drug," if you know what we mean! It is totally possible for micro cheating to exist on it's own. Now, we have mentioned that often micro cheating can lead to actual cheating, yes. But that doesn't mean it's a given. Again, it's all about mindset. If all you want to do is get a little flirt on and you feel empowered to do that in your relationship, it likely won't lead to anything else!

We always love educating our readers. So if you didn't know what micro cheating was before reading this, we're glad that you know now! After all, knowledge is power and all that. Plus, we think that with the right circumstances, micro cheating can be a lot of fun so now that you know about it you can get out there and have some fun too! And make sure your partner can get in on the fun too. They deserve to have some micro cheating fun too, after all.