Some think it’s a radical approach, but I don’t see it that way.
This part is perfectly reasonable.
For all its capabilities, the Internet isn’t real and neither are the relationships we have with people on numerous sites that form its social aspect.
This part, not so much. People on the internet are actual people. The things we say and do have real effects for actual people, it’s not just fake. Since you’re dealing with real people, obviously relationships with those people are also real.
It is true that it can be harder to form a relationship with a person on the internet though just because it’s a limited medium of communication. It’s also true that it’s easier for someone with bad intentions to fake the appearance of a relationship even if it’s not genuine. Neither of those issues support a conclusion that relationships with people on the internet aren’t genuine though.
If they choose to be scornful towards their own family with “they didn’t accept my pronouns” as the only argument, then they deserve as much scorn too.
“They didn’t respect my pronouns” might sound trivial, but it could come down to their family deliberately choosing not to respect something integral to their identity as a person. That’s not a trivial thing at all. Also, if someone’s family is taking that approach then it’s pretty likely there are other issues at play as well: it’s not very likely the family is 100% loving and supportive in every other facet of the relationship except they just won’t use the pronoun the person identifies with.
This part is perfectly reasonable.
This part, not so much. People on the internet are actual people. The things we say and do have real effects for actual people, it’s not just fake. Since you’re dealing with real people, obviously relationships with those people are also real.
It is true that it can be harder to form a relationship with a person on the internet though just because it’s a limited medium of communication. It’s also true that it’s easier for someone with bad intentions to fake the appearance of a relationship even if it’s not genuine. Neither of those issues support a conclusion that relationships with people on the internet aren’t genuine though.
“They didn’t respect my pronouns” might sound trivial, but it could come down to their family deliberately choosing not to respect something integral to their identity as a person. That’s not a trivial thing at all. Also, if someone’s family is taking that approach then it’s pretty likely there are other issues at play as well: it’s not very likely the family is 100% loving and supportive in every other facet of the relationship except they just won’t use the pronoun the person identifies with.