TikTok trend romanticizes adult-minor relationships, raising grooming concerns

A new TikTok trend romanticizes relationships between adults and minors, sparking concerns about grooming and potential sexual abuse. The trend features couples sharing "then and now" photos, revealing relationships that began when one partner was underage. Experts warn that the trend normalizes and potentially encourages grooming, a manipulative process where adults gain a minor's trust for emotional or sexual exploitation. Psychologists highlight the power imbalance and vulnerability of minors in such relationships. This trend emerges amid a backdrop of rising child sexual abuse cases and a lack of comprehensive sex education in Romania, where minors often turn to social media for information.