ho boy can i write PARAGRAPHS on this topic!! ill try to keep it as brief as possible, this is all from personal experience haha
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the boys in my country are a hopeless case, the only thing they can think about with all brutal honesty is sex. my country is pretty conservative, so dating someone in itself is seen as a sin, however, people find their way around it to "see the people they love". throughout school, i have heard rumors and gossips of people dating and hiding behind buses to kiss and all that but i have never had
any of that. i was extremely insecure about my looks, especially being dark-skinned and bullied for it, and believed i would never find love irl. in fact, my friends pranked me during school that a boy was interested in me bc he thought i was pretty, but it turned out that boy never existed and i was waiting to meet no one. with that, you can imagine that i sought out love over the internet, where no one knew what i looked like!!
i had seen SO many people online, some who were straight-forward about just wanting nudes and others who speak with you a few days then ask for pics/nudes. i have also met people who publicly cheated on me and others who suddenly were uninterested and just ghosted me or started treating me unwell. despite that, i dont believe online love is impossible, it is just as valid as irl love but either works for different people. there was a recurring theme with boys who were genuinely interested: they never pressure you for anything and wait for you to take the initiative when it comes to private information and that include pictures of yourself! a lot of people argue that "you have to see the person first!!" but im just not convinced so much by it and we can agree to disagree
my bf who im with now is someone i met online when i was around 20, and have been dating for almost a year before we first met (its been two years now!). we did a lot of video calls and tried to understand each other as much as possible and make it bearable for the both of us to be that far distant but still virtually close. after roughly a year of dating, we decided to book a vacation together so we can meet and all that, we went to disneyland together then stayed at his home to meet his parents too. i know a year is not so long to be taking this step, but we were so close it felt like we knew each other for way more. we made it a tradition to meet every christmas and spend it with his family, its my favorite time of the year now. i am currently staying with him due to unforeseen circumstances (its been 3 months) and i enjoy my life with him and his parents. i help him get ready for work, we play games together, he takes care of me and helps me so much in everything i need, even his parents.
my relationship has sort of transitioned into being irl i guess, but it will go back to being online when things are back to normal. we both trust each other with our lives so its no biggie, but we will miss each other so much!! until im done with school, then we can move somewhere together in the states and buy a house and adopt dogs and settle in <3 in the mean time, we both do our thing that will bring us closer to our dream together. so to sum up, yes online relationships work! it may not be for everyone, but you also have to be careful. the internet is full of creeps who lie so be vigilant and dont believe everything you are told. think ten times before sharing anything, and reach out to anyone you trust for a second opinion in case you're not sure! i think i found true love online, others did offline, love is love in the end ❤