There are a number of reports circulating in the media about a woman known only as Zhou. Details are sketchy and she seems to have quite ready access to the media despite having been arrested, it is said, for fraud. 

It's worth picking out the salient points from the story as illustrative, even if they turn out to not relate to a specific case.

1. Like many, Zhou found herself isolated from her family. She had a job and when her mother became ill the entire family put their resources into medical bills but the mother died, leaving Zhou in Shanghai where her salary was ok, her husband was too busy at work to notice her problems and his parents were "unsympathetic."
2. Zhou found comfort in watching live-streaming on the internet, as do millions of people every day. But hers went further and she began interactions with young male models who called her "sister" and promised to visit her one day. Like all romance-style frauds, the intent was to solicit money and she willingly paid for their time and company. 
3. But the bills kept mounting. Her salary, good pay at more than US800 a month, could not keep pace. As her debt grew, her husband issued divorce proceedings. And still what we might reasonably think of as a result of depression and a desperate need for comfort, got worse. Some reports say that she realised it could not be true that they would take care of her when she was old, as one said, but the compulsion was too strong.
4. Then she decided online was not enough and started going to a "male model club" and her drinks and tips became monumental (for her) expenses. One of the reports says "“She spent 16,000 yuan during her initial visit, entirely funded by her salary. The bar’s drink packages were priced between 10,000 yuan and upwards of 100,000 yuan,” noted Lei Tianrao, a police officer from the Songnan police station under the Baoshan public security bureau." 
5. She raided her employer's bank accounts of some 4.5m yuan over a period of three months and, it is said, realised she was committing theft but couldn't help it. 

Lesson to Learn

It's easy to be critical but if we view this as an extreme form of social media use and the need to pay for it, we can see similarities between romance frauds and, even, radicalisation. The story might be a bit patchy but it holds very important lessons.