VIA: MSNBC.com
His cell phone sits on the night table while he showers. Her e-mail is left accidentally on the computer screen while she uses the bathroom. To look or not to look?
It’s perhaps the strongest new temptation of the 21st century — the casual glance at a lover’s cell phone text messages or e-mail. This level of snooping once required rather deliberate spy-like behavior, such as rustling through a bedroom drawer to find stashes of old-fashioned letters. Now it can happen as quickly as an instant glance. And, according to one new study, it’s happening a lot.
But is such amateur sleuthing a normal part of life in the digital world, or does it mean couples need professional help?
A study commissioned by online gadget review site Retrevo.com found that 38 percent of people under age 25 had stolen a glance at their lover’s texts or e-mails – without that person’s permission or awareness. Among married adults of any age, the rate was 36 percent.
“We were surprised to see how large the percentage was,” said Manish Rathi, co-founder of Retrevo.
California-based couples counselor Jay Slupesky was not.
“It happens all the time,” he said. “That has brought people into counseling on many occasions.”
