First and foremost, honest communication is important among parents and youth. Find out what is real. Sometimes youth exchange contact numbers for take to help each other regarding school and college matters. Sometimes it became real, but sometimes it could be wrong. Since online communication lacks non-verbal cues like body language and tone, messages can easily be misinterpreted. To avoid this, the youth should keep clear and open communication with their parents. They can share their thoughts, feelings, and secret talks, and their parents can explain about boundaries to build a relationship with friends. If this happens at the beginning can reduce confusion and build trust. Being honest about intentions—whether seeking friendship, romance, or casual conversation also helps both parents and young stay on the same page with each other.
Understand the Consequences of Online Friendship
While online attraction can provide connection and companionship, if it is not managed properly or becomes unhealthy, it can also lead to failure in life. Many young people become deeply entangled in virtual relationships, sometimes at the expense of their education, personal development, mental health or real-life responsibilities.
One of the main problems is distraction from goals. Constantly chatting, checking messages or thinking about an online crush can lead to poor academic performance, poor attention and lack of motivation. Young people may spend hours online, neglecting studies, sleep or other priorities.
Emotional dependency is another problem. When someone becomes overly attached to someone they met online, they may neglect or become isolated from real-life relationships. This can lead to anxiety, depression or heartbreak, especially if the online attraction is one-sided, ends abruptly, or is based on false information.
Trust and identity issues also arise when people are misled online. Catfishing, lies or betrayal can damage a young person's ability to trust others and affect future relationships. This emotional suffering can lower self-esteem and hinder personal development.
In some tragic cases, sextortion—the threat of exposing private photos or conversations—has directly led to suicide in teens and young people. The fear of social ruin, judgment, or legal repercussions can be unbearable, especially when the victim feels there is no way out or the family is destroyed.
Online relationships offer connection and comfort, but they can also be extremely harmful when they lead to emotional distress, deception, or abuse, which can shake entire families and societies. Often, extreme cases of this are seen in society, where people invest heavily in online relationships, making them the centre of their self-esteem and happiness. When these relationships are abruptly broken through ghosting, betrayal, or rejection, it can lead to intense feelings of loneliness, heartbreak, worthlessness, and suicidal thoughts. Many young people fall prey to this, especially among vulnerable youth.
Awareness About Digital Threats
Cyberbullying, online scams, and online harassment are also serious risks. In toxic online relationships, a partner or even strangers may engage in deception, blackmail, or public shaming. This is especially dangerous when intimate material or secrets are shared and later used to threaten or humiliate the victim. The emotional trauma of such abuse can undermine a young person's ability to cope.
Catfishing and fraud can also have a profound impact on mental health. When someone realises they have been lied to or emotionally exploited through a false identity, the betrayal can lead to deep shame, humiliation, and emotional collapse. For some people, it leads to suicidal thoughts, especially if they feel trapped, isolated, or ashamed to ask for help.
Once caught up in an online friendship, the lack of support in real life makes the situation even worse. Many people affected by toxic online relationships are too scared or embarrassed to talk to family or friends, and without emotional support or professional help, their mental health can deteriorate rapidly. That's why it's so important to teach young people how to avoid online fraud and bad friendships, and to provide them with emotional support during these times.