Once upon a time, cheating was a lot of work. It required a level of dedication and stealth that people can’t even fathom today. To have an affair , you had to get your intended lover alone, flirtatiously convince them to join you in betrayal, arrange a rendezvous, and somehow maintain contact on the down-low without anyone finding out. It was too risky to use your house phone, there was no internet , and people weren’t as mobile as they are today, so flings were harder to come by. Now, it’s laughably easy to cheat thanks to smartphones . There are so many potential lovers right there at your fingertips…and these are the many ways to reach out and touch them.
Cover Photo: WANDER WOMEN COLLECTIVE (Getty Images)
Follow Mandatory on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .
Cheating Phones
Customizable Contacts
It used to be that Caller ID would tell all our business. Now, you can save your lover’s number as “Mom” and all of a sudden your call log goes from suspicious to sweet.
Texting
It seems risky to cheat via text, but it’s oh so convenient! Unlike a phone call, texting is something you can do with your lover on the sly, be it from bed or on the toilet.
Email
Email may be going the way of the dinosaur, but it’s a pretty great way to cheat if you’re long-winded or you like to email your lover while pretending to pound out that quarterly report at work.
Facebook Stalking
The only way anyone used to hook up with their high school crushes was at the 10-year reunion. Then Facebook came along and reconnected us to every single person from our past. Now we’re free to stalk, like, and obsess over anyone. A few IMs here and there, and suddenly you’re having an affair.
DMs
Twitter might be the most insidious way to cheat with your phone. It’s so easy to be wicked; just tweet something provocative and wait 10 minutes for the hot, morally bankrupt people to come sliding into your DMs.
Dating Apps
You really shouldn’t be on dating apps if you’re in a relationship, but if you must cheat, this is certainly one way to go. Set up a fake profile and start meeting up with strangers for one-night stands.
Secure Communication Apps
Wickr is just one of many secure communication apps that allow you to text your lover with hardcore encryption. You can even make your sent messages self-destruct after a predetermined amount of time. If only the rest of the evidence of your affair could evaporate so easily.
Video Chat
Lovers don’t even need to be in the same room to be unfaithful anymore thanks to video chat apps that allow you to have virtual sex when logistically you can’t IRL.
Camera Phones
In between trysts, you can send your lover dirty pics they can masturbate to. Thanks, technology! Back in the day, you had to get a P.O. box and wait for a printed photo to come in the mail. Then you’d have to hide it and feel constantly paranoid that it would be found.
Secret Phones
Cell phones are so cheap these days you can afford to have a few lying around. Separate phones for separate lovers? If only you were this organized in other areas of your life!