The Hardest Part about Online Dating Is Explaining It to Your Parents

[Sandra]

The hardest part about online dating is explaining it to your parents. A lot of what they know of internet dating is from the 90s, and those were dark times for that kind of thing.

[Jane]

I didnt tell them I told them I met him through a friend

[Becky]

Uhm, depends on what kind of parents you have. I did some online dating, what ended on the internet, we've never met each other. but i told my mom, she was happy for me and didn't care if it was an online relationship.

[Kate]

Uhm, depends on what kind of parents you have. I did some online dating, what ended on the internet, we've never met each other. but i told my mom, she was happy for me and didn't care if it was an online relationship.

The thing is, is that it never went anywhere beyond online, so your parents probably thought it was a similar thing to a schoolcrush - harmless fun. If you had actually tried to meet up, I would imagine she'd have acted very different.

[Rachael]

I know how you feel, my parents were the same. My Dad gave me a huge lecture... and he was all wrong. He went on about how a load of African countries speak French (He's French, I'm English) We're coming up to 9 months now and my boyfriend will actually be meeting my parents next time he comes to the country, before we go away on holiday for a week, so hopefully that will be the final proof that he's not some lecherous old man.

My advice: Do a video call (Skype or something), and grab a screenshot. You've heard his voice and seen his face. You can prove it - at the very least it'll shoot down the old man accusations.

[Mabel]

I know.. My mom is like my best friend, and we always talk about things. I was really timid to tell her about my online stuff, and when I finally did, at first she was ok, but then I told her about some other guys and she just freaked out and got mad at me, told me I would get kidnapped, raped, sex trafficked, that I wouldn't always be so lucky, looked me straight in the face and said she was disappointed in me. She's never said anything near to that before, and I can't tell you how horrible it felt afterwards. Online dating really isn't that bad, but now I feel like it's something horrible, hence why I came on here to try and remember that.

[Tina]

My dad made me fear online dating a bit because when I was ten I really wanted a Myspace account and he drilled it in my head that I should only friend people I know and that it's dangerous. Granted this was when I was a preteen but his speech sort of stuck with me however now that I'm twenty one I figure that on the off chance that I do meet a child molester through Tinder than they're going to be really disappointed

[Shirley]

Well, I have a crush on a game I play, and I skype him all the time, and he's not even a 50 year old pervert! I've also seen his face. I am 13. :P But on skype I only add people that I know on the game I play. And he's 13 too! And he also has a crush on me... My parents say that online most people are pedophiles that are like 40 years old. Actually most online daters are kids, or just normal adults, and most of humanity finds their match online now a days.

[Elizabeth]

My mom found out that I had given my phone number to a guy that I had met online and already video chatted with and questioned me like crazy. Then she went on to tell me that whatever we had cant be "real" and that our feelings aren't "real" and that doesn't really care about me because we've never met. That crushed me. I don't understand how parents can make assumptions like that when they haven't even been through the experience themselves.

[Peggy]

Can't wait till I get my own apartment in the future! Once I finally live on my own, I'll then let him send letters to me. Otherwise my parents would freak out if he sent anything to me whilst still living with them.

I just hope that they'll at least give him a chance once they finally do meet him somehow.. If he ends up not being the person he is, (which my parents are so convinced of this) then so be it. I'll move on with my life. But I strongly believe that he is what he says he is. I've talked to him on the phone, met his step dad and mom, I know his sister, I've seen pictures of him & his family, I've even video chatted with him and he's the SAME person I've seen in the pictures.

I also remember my mom saying things like "Don't limit yourself to one person" as in "since you don't know him in real life, what's the point of trying to keep him" or something along the lines of that.. but unfortunately I'm very stubborn and I tend to stand ground to what I think is right. It's not like I don't listen to what my parent's say and all, it's just that I think they're judging something too quickly.

[Gray]

Go with your gut :P Don't worry about your parents, they're just worried about you. If it doesn't work out, then it just wasn't meant to be but the experience is still worth it. Nah, it's okay. It sounded like you needed to talk it out anyways~ (And I get rambly too, it's all good :P) I hope it works out for you.

[Peggy]

Go with your gut. Don't worry about your parents, they're just worried about you. If it doesn't work out, then it just wasn't meant to be but the experience is still worth it. Nah, it's okay. It sounded like you needed to talk it out anyways~ (And I get rambly too, it's all good :P) I hope it works out for you.

Exactly right! It's always good to take past experience and learn from them. In certain situations they'll give you things to look out for in the future which could help you steer clear of said thing.

And I'm definitely thankful that my parents worry about me and care for my safety, and I can tell your parents do as well. It's just that I want them to understand that not all cases like this end up being some pedophile or something. Just as I've heard stories about people younger than me getting snatched up from people, and then there's the other side where the person actually is who they say they are. Where there is of course bad people out there, you have to remember that there are good people out there as well and not all situations like this turn out sinister.

It's good to keep that in mind but of course, you can never be to careful! Which is why if I do end up meeting him somehow, it will be in a VERY public place (Just in case he ISN'T who he says he is. But to be honest, I highly doubt that..), and bring something for self-defense with me. However if he IS who he says he is, then it will be quite a while of meeting in public places until I trust him enough to come into my living space.

And You're welcome!