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AIBU?

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Aibu to ban him from dating girls online

35 replies

Mumof16 · 24/10/2026 03:11

My ds is 16 and he keeps getting dumped by girls who cheat on him. I don’t know what to do about this. He mostly meets them online, they chat for hours. It’s quite sweet, I’ve heard many of their chats. It’s just gentle getting to know each other stuff. He’s very kindly. They might meet a few times irl over the course of a few months. For example they met online, through friends of friends . They chat on phone. They end up as girlfriend and boyfriend. They meet maybe once or twice a month. Then, Every single time, the girl cheats on him with another boy. He’s been told usually by the other boys. How will this impact him?
What should I do? Aibu to ban him from going out with girls online?

OP posts:
EmmaB1309 · 24/10/2026 13:41

I don’t think there’s much you can do really except give gentle advice and encourage him to try to meet girls through face to face means, eg school/college, clubs/activities. No doubt he’ll soon twig himself that meeting them online is not working out for him.

Harry12345 · 24/10/2026 13:12

Flamingojune · 24/10/2026 07:27

Online dating is not a normal part of teenage life

Lots of teens meet online now so it’s became normal

Pherian · 24/10/2026 12:16

Mumof16 · 24/10/2026 03:11

My ds is 16 and he keeps getting dumped by girls who cheat on him. I don’t know what to do about this. He mostly meets them online, they chat for hours. It’s quite sweet, I’ve heard many of their chats. It’s just gentle getting to know each other stuff. He’s very kindly. They might meet a few times irl over the course of a few months. For example they met online, through friends of friends . They chat on phone. They end up as girlfriend and boyfriend. They meet maybe once or twice a month. Then, Every single time, the girl cheats on him with another boy. He’s been told usually by the other boys. How will this impact him?
What should I do? Aibu to ban him from going out with girls online?

As long as it’s with people his own age - you need to stay out of it. He’s 16 and he will eventually learn the lesson himself. Preventing failure/hardship/tough life lessons might make you feel better but it teaches him nothing.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 24/10/2026 08:32

Banning him is one thing actually stopping him is very much another. Lots of things are band but people still do them. Hiding his devices won’t help either he’ll just use someone else’s. In less than 2 years time you won’t have a say in anything

Catza · 24/10/2026 08:17

No, you can't ban him from dating but you could explain to him that meeting once a month does not constitute being "boyfriend-girlfriend" and that what his friends are telling him may not be verified information.
But also, yes. He is the common denominator here so he needs to understand what he is doing to attract these sorts of people.

IVeryMuchDoNotThinkSo · 24/10/2026 07:57

Maybe it’s him and not them. It’s him that’s the common denominator! I didn’t want my sixteen year olds in serious relationships so I would not have minded a series of break ups. You can’t ban a sixteen year old from dating. Well, you could I suppose but it’s a bit mean.

Flamingojune · 24/10/2026 07:27

Agatha1989 · 24/10/2026 07:12

Of course you can’t ban him from dating. It’s all part of teenage life, getting dumped. Don’t interfere!

Online dating is not a normal part of teenage life

JMSA · 24/10/2026 07:23

I’d hate for my daughters to be online dating at 16! It seems so young. I maybe wouldn’t ban him exactly, but encourage him into making real life connections, through clubs or whatever.
The girls will on there will be hit on left, right and centre, so I can see how their heads would be turned. Honestly, online dating was bad enough in my 40s!!

Agatha1989 · 24/10/2026 07:12

Of course you can’t ban him from dating. It’s all part of teenage life, getting dumped. Don’t interfere!

RowsOfFlowers · 24/10/2026 07:08

You want to ban your 16 yo son from online dating? 🤦🏽‍♀️ He needs to learn resilience and assertiveness himself. It sounds like he’s been unlucky. Maybe there are signs he is ignoring, or boundaries he’s not implementing. It isn’t his fault they are cheating, but he may be playing some part. I personally wouldn’t molly coddle him by banning him from online dating

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