Toxic relationships, red flags, intimacy: Delhi University to introduce new course for undergraduates from...

In an effort to teach students to navigate challenges in relationships, the University of Delhi will launch a new course called "Negotiating Intimate Relationships", which will be part of the curriculum as an elective subject. The move has come especially at a time when Gen Z is juggling between newer dating apps, finding love on social media and exploring new definitions of love and relationships. The course will cover almost every aspect of relationships and intimate emotions, like understanding love, friendships, identifying red flags, and building healthier bonds. 

Young students these days are more vulnerable to social media which have become the basis of their decisions, important activities and has penetrated in almost all aspects of their life as they spend majority of their lives in scrolling the social media feed. This has confused and distorted their understanding of human emotions, especially relationships.  

DU to introduce course on relationship 

DU's Department of Psychology will start offering the new course from the 2025–26 academic session as part of a bigger initiative that also includes other new courses like Media Psychology and Psychology of Adjustment. The course will delve into intimate and sensitive subjects like romance, friendship, jealousy, and break-ups to encourage deep debates around such emotions and connections.  

In an interview with India Today, Ruchi Ruuh, a Delhi-based relationship expert, feels maybe. “Young adults today are navigating an incredibly complex emotional landscape. This course can offer something that can help them navigate this complexity, like long-distance relationships, situationships, digital intimacy, complex relationship dynamics and even burnout from dating apps. What these young people can learn is the vocabulary, psychological insight and communication tools to express and understand relationships.” 

The university has started this course also because of growing incidents of murders, betrayal, and depression due to fallout in a relationship. Recently, an English series, Adolescence, has sparked conversation around such subjects with its plot aptly portraying the reality on the subject. The course is spread across four credits and will have three lectures and one tutorial every week. The course will be taught to undergraduates who have basic knowledge of introductory psychology.