The issue of whether services like that of Ashley Madison should be allowed to exist is controversial. Ashely Madison is an online dating service. The quirky thing about the company is that they specialise in people finding matches for people who are already married.
The Service
The service is marketed to people who would like to have an affair despite their commitment in a relationship. Odd as it may sound, subscription to Ashley Madison was very popular. They have over 39 million customers who have purchased a membership, and they are spread over 53 countries in the world.
A disagreeing Party
The company raises questions about moral standards. However, Ashley Madison did not become famous for its service. It became famous because of the way a group of people chose to react to the concept. While it isn’t surprising that Ashley Madison disgusted some people, it is astounding to find that people would go to the extent of breaking up to eliminate the company!
The Scandal
After finding out about (and disagreeing with) Ashley Madison’s way of business, a group of hackers gained illegal access to the information of all the customers of Ashley Madison. The hacking included hacking sensitive information such as:
- Email addresses
- The bodies of emails
- The names of the customers
- The home addresses of the customers
- And graphic details like the sexual fantasies of the customers.
This incident took place on the 15th of July 2015. They wanted the owners of Ashley Madison (Avid Life Media) to shut Ashley Madison down as well as another one of their sites (EstablishedMen.com – another dating website). They threatened to release the personal information online for public viewing if they did not comply with their demands.
Despite this, Ashley Madison remained online, and this provoked the hackers to release some of the information on the 22nd of July 2015. After further resistance from Avid Life Media, the hackers released all the data on the 20th of August later in the year. It is this action which poses a major threat to marriages.
Huge Problem for Marriages
The hackers had just unleashed the identities of 39 million unfaithful spouses and partners. Some couples already had weak relationships due to doubt. After the data leakage, some people started to search the information to find out if their partners had been cheating on them with the help of Ashley Madison. Two marriage-wrecking scenarios could occur.
They might be unfortunate enough to have their doubts confirmed by the data and as a result, bring the issue up with their partner – severely weakening their relationships. Some people might jump straight to divorce after finding their partner to be an adulterer.
They might not have found their partner to be cheating through the website, but their partner might be disappointed that they had such little faith in their loyalty that they might also divorce.
Some people might not have doubts about their partner. However, they might mistakenly stumble onto some of the data and be shocked to find out that their partner had been cheating on them.
A website with the slogan “Life is short. Have an affair” is bound to cause rifts in relationships. And when all the information is public, it can only get worse.
