Delhi University to teach Gen-Z about love, red flags, and breakups

Business Standard

a day ago

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Delhi University (DU) will offer a course that speaks directly to Gen-Z's digital-age dilemmas—how to navigate heartbreak, spot red flags, and build healthy relationships in an era ruled by Tinder swipes and Instagram stories, reported Times of India.
Titled "Negotiating Intimate Relationships", the new general elective course will be available to undergraduate students from all disciplines starting the 2025-26 academic session. It is being introduced by the Department of Psychology with a focus on helping young adults better understand romance, friendship, jealousy, and breakups—topics often brushed under the rug in traditional education settings.
The four-credit course will include three lectures and one tutorial every week and is open to students who have passed Class XII and have a basic understanding of psychology. The initiative comes amid growing concern about rising incidents of violence among young adults, often fuelled by toxic relationships and a lack of emotional awareness.
Between late May and early June this year alone, Delhi witnessed three disturbing murders—each rooted in toxic intimacy. Komal (21) was strangled and dumped in Chhawla canal, Vijaylaxmi (19) was stabbed to death by her 20-year-old boyfriend, and Mehek Jain (18) was killed and set on fire in a public park by her partner.
While not all such incidents involve university students, they reflect a dangerous trend among young adults grappling with emotional instability, possessiveness, and unchecked jealousy—often exacerbated by constant social media surveillance.
'These aren't isolated crimes. These are symptoms of a deeply rooted inability to regulate emotions, amplified by constant online monitoring of partners. Without early emotional education, this cycle will only worsen,' a psychologist was quoted as saying.
The course syllabus is divided into four units that together form a comprehensive approach to understanding intimate relationships.
- Unit 1 — The Psychology of Friendships and Intimate Relationships — explores how relationships form, evolve, and transition into long-term bonds like dating and marriage.
- Unit 2 — Understanding Love — dives into foundational theories such as Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love and the Two-Factor Theory of Love, while also addressing sexuality and its role in shaping modern romance.
- Unit 3 — Signs of Relationships Going Sour. This segment is designed to help students identify early signs of emotional manipulation, jealousy, romantic transgressions, and even intimate partner violence.
- Unit 4 — Flourishing Relationships, takes a solutions-oriented approach by teaching students how to foster healthy relationships, effective communication, and emotional resilience.
Beyond theory, the course promises to be highly interactive. Students will be encouraged to map their social media interactions, take part in forgiveness and self-awareness exercises, and critically examine modern love through films and real-life scenarios.
Pop culture references—from the controversial portrayal of possessiveness in Kabir Singh to the grand gestures of love in Titanic—will be used as conversation starters. These films, according to faculty, offer a chance to dissect how cinema both reflects and shapes society's view of love.
'Films reflect how love is often idealised or even normalised when it's toxic. But when analysed in a classroom, they can become powerful tools to deconstruct unhealthy patterns,' said Latika Gupta, a faculty member at Delhi University.
Gupta added, 'No one teaches how to handle rejection or set boundaries. If we learn this early, some of the tragedies wouldn't happen. If we want to prevent emotional harm, we will have to start having honest conversations early.'