The mobile-led, social media phenomenon has meant that it has never been easier to reach out to people, a temptation that can be a destabilising distraction for some marriages.(File Photo)
Ming Pao Weekly reported yesterday that a survey conducted by Hong Kong Family Crisis Support Center showed that about two-fifths of extramarital affairs that Hong Kong citizens have took place on the Chinese mainland, as Hong Kong and the mainland forge increasingly close relationship.
Over the past two years, the center interviewed 1,400 Hong Kong residents, and over 30 percent of the respondents said they have asked for help because of extramarital affairs carried out by their spouses.
The survey results appear to show that there's no such thing as the seven-year itch nowadays. No matter how many years ago they tied the knot, married individuals face a nearly equal risk of extramarital affairs.
About 2 percent of those respondents reported that they or their spouses had cheated within one year after they tie the knot.
Chiu Yu Lung, an associate professor at National University of Singapore who was in charge of this survey, said that messaging applications like WhatsApp, Line and WeChat offer increase the possibilities of having an extra-marital affair.
Professor Guo Zhiying of Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre said that young people usually choose to marry at a later age. Lots of couples have already known each other for a fairly long time before they marry, which may cause the love between them to gradually fade at an early stage in their marriage, leaving both spouses more easily exposed to the possibility of extramarital affairs.
