ArcaMax

Your husband’s sex habit in his virtual life might have created or exacerbated sexual dysfunction in his real life. Or sexual dysfunction or anxiety in his real life might have led him down this virtual path.

You two must talk about this, and you should talk about it until everything — all of your thoughts, fears and feelings — have been revealed.

You should both vow to be completely honest and nonjudgmental in discussing this. This would best be done with the guidance of a skilled couples counselor who could ideally urge you toward a compassionate understanding of your mutual needs and desires, and teach you how to talk about them.

Dear Amy: PLEASE do your research before suggesting that people try online dating. Have you not heard about catfishing and scams?

Sadly, I’ve been doing it for far more years than I care to admit, and I will tell you first-hand that the men on most sites these days are FAR from “available and looking!”

— Upset

Dear Upset: I have used online matching, myself. Two of my five daughters met their partners through online matching.

According to a Pew Research study published last year, an estimated 33 percent of American adults say they have used a dating app, while one in 10 have met their spouses or committed partners online, either through matching services or through social media.

The same study points out that people do NOT have a universally good experience meeting potential partners this way.

According to the study, “Six-in-10 female users ages 18 to 34 say someone on a dating site or app continued to contact them after they said they were not interested, while 57 percent report that another user has sent them a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for. At the same time, 44 percent report that someone called them an offensive name on a dating site or app, while 19 percent say they have had someone threaten to physically harm them.”

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