But she warns people on both ends of these messages that texting warps the reality of a situation – and the person. “When you’re messaging someone, you’re actually creating this image within your mind. You’re not actually seeing the person in real life. So when you’re writing to them and you’re getting responses back, [the person] can be whoever they want to be at that particular time.

“You are creating this image and you can start falling in love with this person emotionally. It’s the visionary side of things of what they’re building up in their minds. They start thinking, ‘Wow, this person is so amazing, what they’re writing is so amazing. It’s so connecting.”

Ultimately, this is up to the people within the relationship to decide

Via text, someone can misconstrue almost anything if the context is misunderstood. However, Jessica says, “If you use texts to turn friendship into something intimate, show more respect to your partner. Texting is just as bad as kissing if it’s a strategy to get the recipient into bed. In that case, putting a kiss (an ‘x’) at the end of a message really is a deep betrayal.”

Is flirting cheating in a relationship?

Some couples may see flirting as just a bit of harmless fun. Others see it as insulting and a serious betrayal to the relationship. If you’re having to ask the question, “am I cheating by messaging this person?”, then perhaps it’s time to take another look how you’re texting – and your relationship itself.

Emma explains, “I f a person is having to seek validation and emotional connection from other people, they are never going to be able to sustain a happy, faithful relationship.”

People seeking validation outside their relationships has become especially prominent in the last year, Emma tells GoodtoKnow. “ Everyone is looking to out-do each other, compete against each other. It’s always that competition of ‘I need to loved by everyone, told how wonderful I am’. What I’m finding is people would rather get 100 likes than a relationship with one person. More so in the younger generations.”

This could be, in part, due to the significant challenges posed by lockdown. Most of us were extremely isolated, but also spent more time than ever before on social media. A review by The British Psychological Society has found that the challenges of lockdown have been “substantial” and, even though many of the restrictions have now lifted, still have the “potential for increased isolation and personal and sexual disconnection through prolonged periods of separation.”

This, our expert explains, can lead to people looking for validation outside of the relationship. It’s just one of the many ways that lockdown has ruined relationships, as it was harder for couples living apart (and together in some cases) to maintain a healthy, fulfilling relationship.

Naturally though, not all ambiguous text messaging leads to cheating. Also, the majority of people in happy and healthy relationships don’t want to cheat on their partners. So if you suspect someone is messaging you and the reason is not entirely innocent, and you want to stop it, there are some ways you can proactively go about it.

“If you’re attached and the other person has got the wrong end of the stick, just be straight with them. Tell them honestly that you’re taken and you would rather not cross that line,” Jessica says. “Most people will respect the fact that you’re clearly setting boundaries. If they ignore that advice, there’s no need to block them – that will just antagonise them. Just ignore their messages.”