Danger from the virtual world
Recently, public opinion has been very interested in a series of sophisticated "online kidnapping" cases when many subjects impersonate police or authorities to deceive and require victims to stage kidnapping and blackmail scenes. The tricks are increasingly sophisticated, hitting the immature psychology and lack of legal knowledge of young people.
The online world, which was once considered a space for learning, connecting and entertainment, is gradually becoming a "gray area" with many unpredictable risks, especially for young people.
According to the US General Hospital Office Report, in 2023, 95% of US adolescents aged 13-17 used social media, of which more than a third used it almost continuously.
Common sense Media (an organization that specializes in evaluating and ranking media and technology) released data in 2025, about 70% of American adolescents used AI (artificial intelligence) to "exposure confessions". And more than 30% said they shared more serious stories with AI than with real people.
In Vietnam, a report by UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund - in 2022 showed that 82% of children aged 12-13 and 93% of children aged 14-15 use the Internet (the network system) every day.
The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (old, now the Ministry of Home Affairs) also warned that Vietnamese adolescents currently use social networks for an average of 5-7 hours per day.
The seemingly dry numbers about technology really revealed a truth. More and more teenagers are quietly seeking joy, comfort and understanding from the virtual world, where there are no parents, no conversations, and sharing in the family.
Unfortunately, many emotional relationships that children build online, although seem close, are fragile, unverified and have many potential risks, from bullying, manipulation, abuse to the risk of kidnapping and blackmail.
Advice from education experts
Education expert, Deputy Director of the Institute of lifelong learning Tong Lien Anh shared that the disruption in family connections in the booming online age is no longer a rare thing.
Expert Tong Lien Anh gave advice on family education: Sometimes, a meal without a phone, an evening of walking together, or just watching an old movie with your child is enough to create a connection.
I often advise parents to learn to ask their children about their emotions, not just about their scores or achievements. A sentence like Are you happy today?, Is there anything that makes you tired? seems simple, but can open the door for parents to enter a world full of secrets and disruption of children in a very natural way.
Research published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology in 2021 as well as many other studies have shown that if adults stay calm and do not react negatively in the first few minutes when their children share, they will feel respected and more willing to open their hearts in the following times.
Education expert Tong Lien Anh believes that the world of social networks is attracting great attention to children. Children are willing to share their thoughts with strangers online, not their parents.
Social networks risk creating a big gap between parents and children, while creating a chain of disruptions in family relationships, when members want to use their phones, surf the internet rather than chatting together.
