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＂Online marriage＂ ： A precursor to infidelity
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1434
Students who get married online are actually the main force
As her husband was away from home for a long time, the wife gradually became addicted to the Internet and soon got married online. After a "Platonic spiritual love" style online marriage was unexpectedly discovered by the husband, he was greatly surprised and angry. The husband filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting a divorce and demanding mental compensation from his wife. However, a few days ago, the husband suddenly withdrew the lawsuit. The reporter learned that the wife has voluntarily ended her online marriage in an attempt to win back her husband's heart. Today, with the increasing popularity of the Internet, what are the reasons that make many people fall into the trap of the Internet? Does online marriage bring benefits or drawbacks to our lives? What exactly are the legal consequences? Journalists investigated some parties involved and experts on this matter and learned about the current situation of online marriage.
■ Case Studies
A female teacher got married online and is now facing a divorce.
Feifei (a pseudonym) is a teacher in Shanghai. She is just over 30 years old. Her husband, Xiaocheng (a pseudonym), is the owner of a private enterprise in Shanghai and is often on business trips. In her spare time, Feifei (a pseudonym) often goes online. Last March, she accidentally discovered a website where "virtual marriages" could be established. Users only needed to fill in relevant information to form "online couples" with another user. Feifei (a pseudonym) found it very interesting and quickly found her "husband" through the Internet. The man called her "Drunk and drunk again". From then on, Feifei (a pseudonym) often went to chat rooms when she was lonely and fell in love with her "husband". After a few days of "getting along", Feifei (a pseudonym) found herself younger and seemed to have regained the feeling of being in love.
To please his "wife", "Drunk Again and Again" even applied for a "home" on the website. As soon as Feifei (a pseudonym) got off work, she couldn't wait to come to "home" and chat and laugh with "Drunk Again and Again". Not long after, Feifei (a pseudonym) suddenly had the idea of meeting her virtual husband. So she bought a camera and video chatted with "Drunken Again Drunken". It was at this moment that Feifei (a pseudonym) realized that "Zui Le You Zui" was very composed and had a scholarly air. "Drunk Again and Again" was also "quite satisfied" with Feifei's (a pseudonym) appearance and told her that he was an architectural designer. Feifei (a pseudonym) has since fallen into an online romance, and she has been intoxicated by this virtual relationship herself.
Last June, Feifei's (a pseudonym) husband returned to Nanjing from a business trip out of town. Feifei (a pseudonym) had thought that her husband would stay at home for a few more days as usual and then leave. But to her surprise, Xiaocheng (a pseudonym) had made a deal and the client was in Shanghai, allowing her to stay at home for a few more days to keep her company. At first, because her husband was at home, Feifei (a pseudonym) had no chance to go online. A few days later, Feifei (a pseudonym) couldn't sit still any longer and was busy surfing the Internet for several consecutive nights, but only chatting with "Drunken Again Drunken" on MSN. Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym) originally intended to spend quality time with his wife, but found that every day after dinner, she would sit in front of the computer until late at night and even chuckle to herself. Although Feifei (a pseudonym) has always claimed that she was working on a paper for a professional title evaluation, in the end, "the truth can't be concealed".
One day at the end of June, Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym) happened to see that his wife logged in to a marriage website every day. He opened its chat records and was stunned to find out. The record is filled with the affectionate words between the wife and "Drunk again and again". Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym) was furious and immediately found his wife, asking her to explain. As a result, Feifei (a pseudonym) straightforwardly admitted that she had already "married" someone online. At the same time, Feifei (a pseudonym) also stated that the online "marriage" was just for fun out of boredom and did not constitute "infidelity to her husband". Seeing his wife "betray" him and still not caring at all, Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym) went hysterical and lost his temper. He has always believed that although Feifei (a pseudonym) has never met her virtual husband and doesn't even know his name, from his chat records, it can be seen that his wife has fallen in love with "getting drunk again and again".
After half a year of consideration, Xiaocheng (a pseudonym) proposed divorce, but Feifei (a pseudonym) firmly refused, believing that she had done nothing to betray her husband. "Online marriage is just for fun when you're bored. There are so many people playing it. Why should you care?" As the two parties failed to reach an agreement on divorce, Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym), who was psychologically unbalanced, entrusted a lawyer to file a lawsuit with the court, demanding a divorce and compensation of tens of thousands of yuan for mental distress from his wife. But during the period when the court was filing the case, Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym), who still deeply loved his wife, saw that his wife had resolutely "divorced" her online, cutting off any form of relationship with "Drunk again and again", and his thoughts of divorce wavered once more. Recently, Xiao Cheng (a pseudonym), who has reconciled with his wife, has filed a lawsuit with the court to withdraw it.
■ Viewpoints
It does not constitute bigamy
But it is a betrayal of love
Journalists consulted some lawyers about online marriage. Xu, a lawyer from Jiangsu Province, believes that when married people "get married" online, from a legal perspective, the two parties have not gone through the marriage registration procedures at the marriage registration authority as required by law, and thus do not constitute a true marital relationship. At the same time, since the majority of netizens do not appear online in their real identities and have not actually cohabited, they do not constitute the crime of bigamy.
Most legal experts have also pointed out that for married people, the game of online marriage has crossed the bottom line of social morality and violated the law. According to the explicit provisions of China's "Marriage Law", there is a legal obligation between husband and wife to be faithful and respectful to each other. If one party is in love with a virtual husband or wife online and leads a "marital life", such behavior is obviously inconsistent with the loyalty and civility advocated by the "Marriage Law". Although the two parties involved in online marriage may have never met in person, they have actually betrayed their spouse emotionally. Therefore, it should be determined that they are at fault and should bear the liability for compensation.
However, it is regrettable that according to the relevant provisions of our country's laws, the establishment of citizen marriages follows the principle of registration. Online marriages clearly do not meet this legal requirement. Moreover, when online couples log in and register, they usually do not show their real information and do not even know each other's real names. Therefore, it is impossible for cohabitation to occur online. Not to mention domestic violence, abuse or abandonment of family members. Therefore, once a divorce occurs due to the breakdown of a real marital relationship caused by online marriage, it is almost impossible for the spouse of the party who married online to hold the other party accountable through litigation at this stage. So generally speaking, as long as both parties are willing to get married online, it doesn't matter if they get married a few times. This has already highlighted the awkwardness of the lack of relevant interpretations in our country's laws.
■ Analysis
Expert: "Online marriage" is a prelude to infidelity
The increasing number of online marriages is objectively due to the fact that computers, like televisions, are becoming more and more popular and entering every household, while the Internet is becoming more and more developed, providing convenient conditions for online marriages. But psychologically speaking, it is different for students and adults.
First, for fun and excitement. Recently, a reporter conducted an interview in an Internet cafe and investigated some unmarried people who got married online. Among them, 40% of the young people believed that it was because real life was too dull and boring, 30% said that they were under great life pressure and wanted to find a place to relax online, and 30% thought that virtual marriage was fashionable and did not require much responsibility.
It's so much fun to find a few lovers online! Near Pailou Lane, in an Internet cafe, a college student named Xiao Wang, who is immersed in an online marriage, told the reporter that recently, under the encouragement of other classmates, he found an online "wife". She is not only gentle and considerate but also doesn't require him to clean, do laundry or cook. The young couple's "marital life" is very ideal and relaxing.
Some middle school students who were surfing the Internet in Internet cafes told reporters that they found online virtual marriage very fresh and exciting. Out of rebellious mentality or the intention of imitating adults, they unconsciously fell in love with online marriage. A male student in the third year of junior high school told the reporter that many of his classmates had experienced online marriage. "It's just about finding a female confidant online to chat with and share heart-to-heart talks. It's no big deal!" Despite having been married for nearly two years, he has yet to meet his online wife in person.
Second, reduce the pressure of life. Lingling, 25, is an employee of a foreign-funded enterprise. Every day after work, the first thing she does when she gets home is to turn on her computer and visit her online "home" to exchange a few greetings with her online husband. Lingling told the reporter that she usually has a lot of work pressure. Through online marriage, every day when she gets home from work, someone can comfort her a few words online or guide her when she encounters something unpleasant, which can relieve a lot of her stress. When asked if she would take online marriage seriously, Lingling said no. She said that she also wants to find someone in real life to have a good relationship with and get married, but the current work intensity is too high. Even if she has the time, she doesn't have the energy to date. That's why she chose online marriage. But if she has to choose, she will definitely choose a real and realistic marriage.
Three. Tired of real marriage. A professor from the provincial academy of social sciences believes that for many adults, it is not just for relieving stress, but because they are tired of real marriage. Men and women in marriage are prone to aesthetic fatigue. In real life, when they want to find another marriage, they can't get 100% satisfaction, so they pin their hopes on the Internet. Women are more influenced by traditional concepts and their original lifestyle, tend to suppress themselves, and devote more energy and time to family and educating children. Men devote more energy to social life and are more willing to seek online marriage. Among these people, some are purely seeking novelty to prevent their lives from being too dull, while others are just looking for a third party. Online marriage is merely a prelude to infidelity.
■ Investigation
Millions of people get married online
Nowadays, "online marriage" is increasingly coming into people's view, and many domestic websites have also set up related online marriage communities one after another.
The reporter chose one of the more well-known ones. After opening the website, dozens of personal photos came into view, with the online names, MSN, QQ numbers and other personal information and contact details of the people in the photos attached below. At first glance, it seemed like a matchmaking website. But upon closer inspection, the website already has hundreds of thousands of registered users and over ten thousand "cohabitation nests". Moreover, the so-called "cohabitation ranking list" on the homepage has been at the top for more than three hundred days. The website forums are also bustling with activity. Some directly issue "love declarations" to find people to "marry", while others say they are facing difficulties in life and want to find someone to guide and help them, etc. It is understood that the number of netizens in China who are engaged in online marriage has reached several million, ranging from teenagers to middle-aged people in their forties. People of all ages and occupations are involved. Among the vast ranks of online marriages, college and middle school students are the "main force", followed by young netizens aged 20 to 35. They are enthusiastically joining the ranks of online marriages for their own reasons.
■ Contention
Three-way PK
Is online marriage right or wrong
If online marriage may conflict with traditional moral ideas, then whether it brings benefits or drawbacks to people has become the focus of debate among supporters and opponents.
Supporter: There's nothing wrong with online marriage. Supporters believe that people in online marriages will not encounter any problems as long as they handle the situation properly. Some netizens believe that online marriage is merely a way for young people in the Internet age to express their feelings. It's just a game where they only want to make empty promises and not satisfy their hunger. There's no need to be overly nervous. Some people also think that getting married in real life is tiring and not free, while getting married online is very easy and is a good cure for emptiness and loneliness. Why not do it? Those who hold these views are mostly people who can distinguish between virtual and real life on the Internet.
Opponents: The disadvantages of online marriage outweigh the advantages. They believe that online marriage can bring about unexpected consequences. A Mr. Zhang said that his son, who was in high school, used to have excellent academic performance and never caused him any worry. However, since his son got in touch with and became obsessed with online marriage, he no longer focused on his studies, and his grades have plummeted since then. However, in the interviews, most parents did not believe that their children would "get married online", and they were quite angry about such websites. They also stated that if they found out who had "irresponsibly" set up such absurd websites, they would definitely hold them accountable through legal means.
The relevant person in charge of the provincial Women's Federation also believes that if online marriage exceeds the scope permitted by morality, it will become a kind of harm. Especially for those with families, online marriage itself is a manifestation of irresponsibility. At the beginning, the two parties establishing an online marriage might not have taken it seriously. But in fact, this is another manifestation of marital crisis, and perhaps it is a precursor to marital breakdown. Some people even assert that online marriage is a "killer" of traditional marriage and a "destroyer" that harms families, and it should be stopped.
Neutral: Online marriages should be controlled. In addition to the above two viewpoints, there are also some people who believe that online marriage smoke is understandable, but being trapped in online marriage is harmful and thus needs to be controlled. Mr. Liu, who has been married online for over a year, said that online marriage has both advantages and disadvantages. His mood is relaxed, but he wastes too much time and becomes indifferent to real life instead. Students are curious about it and think it's fun, while office workers use it to relieve work pressure. No matter what the purpose is, it can be tolerated, but it must not be addicted. Therefore, online marriage must be regulated and controlled. They believe that they can rely on the power of morality to consciously restrain online marriage, and once the power of morality is broken through, it should be regulated and controlled by law.
■ Countermeasures
Beyond moral constraints
Legislation is crucial.
With the increasing development of the Internet, communication between people has become more and more convenient. It can be said that the saying "A bosom friend on the Internet is as close as a neighbor at the ends of the earth" has truly been realized. So, what will be the future development trend of this kind of online marriage that people both love and hate?
According to a sociologist, due to the rapid development of the Internet, although some people strongly oppose online marriage, it is very difficult to stop its "growth". The number of people involved may continue to increase. Whether it is middle school students, college students or adults, more and more people may be addicted to it. Just like online games, although there are many people who criticize them harshly, they cannot be stopped. Moreover, in the future world, as the Internet enters every part of many people's lives, it is possible that our lives will be a coexistence of virtual and reality. The interaction between people and computers may become just like that between people, and online marriages may also become just like real marriages. The virtual and the real make it difficult for many people to distinguish.
Therefore, how to ensure the healthy development of online marriage remains a difficult problem. Besides constraining it through moral propaganda, what is important at present should be to strengthen legislation and make certain regulations on online marriage. Since online marriage has truly affected our lives and is hard to put an end to, it should not be regarded as intangible and thus have no legal interpretation at all. In addition, the social problems it has triggered still need to be jointly discussed by all.
If you still want to know more about issues related to online marriage, the editor recommends:
Online appointment for marriage registration has been connected nationwide
Online appointment for marriage registration has been connected nationwide
Is "online marriage" a crime of bigamy? Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.