What is your guess on percentage of people who cheat?

[Anonymous]

Maybe I’m naive, but the guesses seem really high to me. I’ve been married for ten years and never even came close to cheating. But I don’t travel without my spouse and we have a strong marriage.

I would be shocked if I ever found out that any of my close friends or their spouses cheated during marriage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In our church, it’s pretty close to zero percent.

[Anonymous]

There is an adverse selection issue with the responses posed by the OP. If you have never cheated you don’t bother to contribute to this discussion. You don’t really care as you do not need any external validation of your choice. On the other hand if you have cheated, you want to normalize it by saying everyone does it or most of the population- that explains the numbers being tossed around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an adverse selection issue with the responses posed by the OP. If you have never cheated you don’t bother to contribute to this discussion. You don’t really care as you do not need any external validation of your choice. On the other hand if you have cheated, you want to normalize it by saying everyone does it or most of the population- that explains the numbers being tossed around.

*responses to the question posed by OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The General Social Survey (Univ of Chicago, data since 1970s) has been pretty consistent throughout the decades. Most recent one: 20 percent of married men and 13 percent of married women admit to cheating.

That's about what I was going to guess. Everyone posting 50%+ must work in pretty scummy industries ...? I'm no babe in the woods, but there's no chance over half the people in our UMC mid and late 40s social circle are cheating or have cheated recently. No chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an adverse selection issue with the responses posed by the OP. If you have never cheated you don’t bother to contribute to this discussion. You don’t really care as you do not need any external validation of your choice. On the other hand if you have cheated, you want to normalize it by saying everyone does it or most of the population- that explains the numbers being tossed around.

+1. Really a good point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The General Social Survey (Univ of Chicago, data since 1970s) has been pretty consistent throughout the decades. Most recent one: 20 percent of married men and 13 percent of married women admit to cheating.

That's about what I was going to guess. Everyone posting 50%+ must work in pretty scummy industries ...? I'm no babe in the woods, but there's no chance over half the people in our UMC mid and late 40s social circle are cheating or have cheated recently. No chance.

You can Google it, and number generally come to 50% (some as low as 25% and as high as 75%). Seems right to me.

For those who are shocked by this, do you get out a lot? Travel for work? Have a big circle of friends? Seems statistically impossible you don't know a lot of people who have cheated. It's half the population, it's like saying you don't know any brunettes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The General Social Survey (Univ of Chicago, data since 1970s) has been pretty consistent throughout the decades. Most recent one: 20 percent of married men and 13 percent of married women admit to cheating.

That's about what I was going to guess. Everyone posting 50%+ must work in pretty scummy industries ...? I'm no babe in the woods, but there's no chance over half the people in our UMC mid and late 40s social circle are cheating or have cheated recently. No chance.[/]

Lolzies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The General Social Survey (Univ of Chicago, data since 1970s) has been pretty consistent throughout the decades. Most recent one: 20 percent of married men and 13 percent of married women admit to cheating.

That's about what I was going to guess. Everyone posting 50%+ must work in pretty scummy industries ...? I'm no babe in the woods, but there's no chance over half the people in our UMC mid and late 40s social circle are cheating or have cheated recently. No chance.

No disrespect but you must be a woman. I guarantee you at least half of the husbands have cheated. If they are attractive and UMC it happens.

[Anonymous]

I travel a lot for work and have never cheated and particularly wouldn’t do it on work travel. I’m really busy when I’m on work travel and am typically up till 2 am preparing for the next days event, then I catch the first flight home. Who are these people who travel for work but then have a ton of time to meet people and have sex? Is this BS conventions in the corporate world? I thought companies were cutting those out to save on costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The General Social Survey (Univ of Chicago, data since 1970s) has been pretty consistent throughout the decades. Most recent one: 20 percent of married men and 13 percent of married women admit to cheating.

That's about what I was going to guess. Everyone posting 50%+ must work in pretty scummy industries ...? I'm no babe in the woods, but there's no chance over half the people in our UMC mid and late 40s social circle are cheating or have cheated recently. No chance.

I think this is the key difference when we are talking statistics: now/recently cheating, vs "ever in your lifetime". I think it's totally realistic that 50% have our will cheat at some point in life, but for most people it's a one-time event or a wild phase in their 20s/30s. At any given snapshot in time, it may only be 10-20%.

[Anonymous]

Some extremely naive people on this thread. The people that would be shocked, really? Most people cheated on, never thought it would happen to them. Strong sex at home doesn’t mean a thing. People like variety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I travel a lot for work and have never cheated and particularly wouldn’t do it on work travel. I’m really busy when I’m on work travel and am typically up till 2 am preparing for the next days event, then I catch the first flight home. Who are these people who travel for work but then have a ton of time to meet people and have sex? Is this BS conventions in the corporate world? I thought companies were cutting those out to save on costs.

I'm a consultant and travel Mon-Thurs/Fri, usually to the same city for weeks or months on end. No desire to cheat, but it would be super easy and many do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I travel a lot for work and have never cheated and particularly wouldn’t do it on work travel. I’m really busy when I’m on work travel and am typically up till 2 am preparing for the next days event, then I catch the first flight home. Who are these people who travel for work but then have a ton of time to meet people and have sex? Is this BS conventions in the corporate world? I thought companies were cutting those out to save on costs.

I'm a consultant and travel Mon-Thurs/Fri, usually to the same city for weeks or months on end. No desire to cheat, but it would be super easy and many do.

I travel a lot for work. It would be so easy to find a different guy every trip. I am also a woman in a male dominated industry. I know how many guys sleep around on business trips. If your DH travels a lot for work, he may not be sleeping with other people but there is a lot of temptation. Hotel rooms are made for sex.

I have a guy that I see very infrequently. If we are in the same city and it works we spend the night together. I don’t even see it as an affair. It’s just something to do while I am travelling. I’d say he sees it the same way.

[Anonymous]

I always knew I'd be the cheater because I don't love my spouse as much as he loves me.