Q - Dear Annabelle, I have a problem on my hands, and I'm not really sure what to do about it. You see, this summer,I met a wonderful guy over the internet. Of course when I met him, I lied about my age and said that I was older than I really am. So as time passed, we fell in love. I couldn't help it- we have everything in common and we understand each other so well- he wasn't even mad when I told him my real age. So there's really no problem.... Except that he lives a couple of states away from me and that he's 3 years older than I. Does this really make a difference or am I worrying about nothing? we live a few states away, and th A - Dear Kate, As you can see, you letter ended rather abruptly, so I will deal with what is there. Now, at 13 you are making a grave error in using the internet this way........and I'll BET that 16 year old was thrilled to find you! He may not even be that young and YOU are inviting trouble. Stop with this 'we fell in love' thing....please believe me when I tell you that you're not doing yourself any favors here. At your age, you need to meet real people in real time...stay away from virtual relationships.......life is Īrealā and your experiences need to be real too. Living in your head will only get you into trouble. Your job, as an early adolescent is to develop real life skills to cope with everyday living and, by that, I do not mean imaginary relationships with an imaginary person. .......and, anyone not in your immediate vicinity with whom you can talk real time, and in person, is in the 'imaginary' category. You're actually depriving yourself of necessary interactions by being on the computer this way. Don't short change yourself...these years cannot be recaptured. The real pain of the real world has to be met and mastered or you'll be the worse for it. Now, shut down the computer and go join a youth group either at school or at church or synagogue. End of nag. (And you though your parents were bad?) - Annabelle