Internet Friends

[Unregistered]

Hey,
So there is this guy that I met online via moovz.com and he is really nice and funny. He stopped me from self harming twice. He is 19 and I am 16. We have established with each other that we don't date over the internet unless they live close (he lives in California) so we have settled for just having really great conversations online and when he gets a new phone, video chats.
Now here's the kicker, my family does not approve of internet friends! How am I supposed to tell them about this guy that I met online that I really like? He has only added positivity to my life. Him and I, we both live in vacation hot spots so I would like to meet him one day if he were to come here on vacation or I there but I need my parents to not be freaked out by people on the internet! How do I explain to my small-minded family that not everyone is an internet predator and that there is a living breathing human on the other side of that screen?
Thanks!

[2NDFLOOR]

That is a really good question, because your family probably has your safety in mind when they are saying they don't want you meeting people online. And really the tricky part is you met him on a social networking site designed to help people meet (and possibly even date), so without lying to them about how you met, you couldn't really tell them about him. Some of the things you write about in your post might be helpful to explain to your parents about him. For example, he helps you deal with your self harming behaviors (if they know you self harm) or that he brings positivity into your life. If you two are really serious friends, maybe you want your parents to speak with him as well at some point. Getting to know him themselves might make it clearer to them that this is an actual person. Call us anytime at 888-222-2228.