Hello everyone, I have made a new online friend about three months ago on an online game. at first everything was fine we had a lot in common and it was fun to just talk about things we both liked. I enjoyed having someone to relate to but after a bit over a month of talking he started expecting things from me. He wanted my skype and then he slowly started hinting at meeting up. I told him I was not comfortable with that and he said he understood and that it was understandable but every other week and now more often he just hints at it and then he offers to buy me a birthday gift. Now he keeps saying he cares about me a lot and we havent been talking that long when you think about it and I am uncomfortable. I feel like in his mind he sees me as a perfect person that he needs in his life, like he is expecting more than i am willing to give.I wouldnt meet an online friend until i was sure I could trust them and I am not at that point. I can understand meeting your friend after talking for a long time but only three months? He texts me on Kik several times throughout the day every morning and night as well as several times throughout the day. I am not an extremely social person and i feel like he is far to clingy. If i dont message him back the first thing he says when I do is why? or was my day bad because I didnt talk more? he is also somewhat sensitive so i feel like I cant tell him how I feel and I just end up completely dogging what he is saying or giving him a generic responses. I do not want to hurt him at all but I dont care about him as much as he seems to care about me. He treats me like we have been friends for years. He keeps saying he cares about me but it makes me uncomfortable. I have met people before on the internet that have hurt me and I guess that is where my trust issues stem from but after telling him I am not comfortable he just keeps saying things that make me uneasy. I was originally just looking for friends to hang with to have a non overly personal friendship with and I feel like he is treating me like his girlfriend and its weird...so should I keep talking to him? what would you guys do in this situation?
Thanks

Best case scenario: he's just lonely and doesn't want to lose the only friend he has.
Worst case scenario: you can imagine.
Perhaps it'd be best if you would try to get to know him more. Maybe up to the point at which it'll be easier to understand his intentions. But if he really is overly clingy, you should try to make it clear that he is only an internet friend with whom you only wish to play games. I don't have much experience in such situations, but that's all of the advice I can give you. Hope it helps ^^

Yea just give it to him straight,
honesty is the best policy

Actually he does have other friends both online and where he lives from what he has told me but thank you both for the advice I really appreciate it!

I would also say straight is the best way to go, just tell him how you feel like you did it above, but I also would try to get to know him more.
I was on the other side already and I know how he possibly feels. After my girlfriend died, I became very unsocial, I wanted to be alone, but someday met a girl online, i was able to talk about everything and thougth I would love her.Someday she just stopped answering and it was painful for me.
He has not to be a bad guy. Just tell him the truth and believe he can handle that. He tells you that he has friends, but it maybe is not the whole truth.

Ok i will do that thank you for the advice and I am sorry that happened to you ShoshanYatogami, i was not going to just stop talking to him permanently, I was just worried about saying how I really felt because I didnt want to hurt his feelings. And my worrying caused me to not want to talk to him as much. but after reading your comment I can see he may be coming from a similar place so I do feel better now

It makes me happy to know that I was able to help you. ^^

Sounds like you've got a bit of a fan. Personally if I were in this situation I'd question the friendship, if he was really your friend he would be more understanding at how uncomfortable you are with this, if he can't handle the truth then he may not be the right guy for you to be hanging out with. I understand what it's like to have online friends but meeting up after only 3 months is a bit weird.

Sorry for writing again, "Tithor" I was in his position and maybe it seems weird, but he is not realizing this, I guess, if he is like I was, it is perfectly normal because he tell himself that this relationship is special. He also thinks to understand her, but act different, it is a bit like being out of control, like an addiction, if you are not texting the person it is like something is missing.

let me further explain: I was the one that initiated the friendship, I am a pretty reserved person who is quiet/shy I don't have many really good friends in my life who share similar interests so i can understand wanting to connect with someone. That is why i wanted some friends to talk about stuff i like with. i never wanted anything super personal just people i can slowly get to know and maybe form strong friendships with in the future. we are, from what he said, fairly close in age and have similar interests. but i felt like he was a bit too forward i felt like he was rushing me into something i never even considered. He does act understanding but i dont think i can ever fully trust him until i have known him for a long time. when he asked for skype and to meet up i saw that as a red flag because i have met guys on the internet that try to get to know girls for the wrong reasons and it has happened to me once before so that is where i have the trust issue. and shoshan i get what you are saying I had an online friend about a year ago that i felt what you explained I cared about him i talked to him often and he really hurt me.he took advantage of the fact that i wanted to talk to him and he basically stopped taking to me becauseof a stupid fight and it hurt a lot. I was made a fool of basically and for all i know this guy may do the same. the one that left has recently tried to re-enter my life but that is a whole separate issue...I feel like i should protect myself in case. I wont just abandon him but i don't think i will agree to meet him anytime soon. I know its possible to find lasting friendships from the internet but its hard to read people based on text for all i know they could be completely different in real life and after that other online friend hurt me i dont think it will be easy to connect with someone else that quickly. but thank you both for the input i really appreciate it. i am not as worried because of the previous advice but there is still a lingering feeling that this could all be something i regret especially if i do meet him and it doesn't go well.

So I'm really bad at keeping in contact with people online most probably coz I have a main group of friends that get along just fine irl. But I see some harmful effects of such online friendships taking in the account of a friend and my younger sister (whom are both pretty closed-off). Because of them, I usually have a bad opinion on such type of meetings, but there's also my aunt who married her husband from the introduction of online gaming. There are three aspects that we can virtually view this relation coming from though.
Extreme bad: the clingy nature and the pushy need to meet each other irl is somewhat of a red flag... not to mention the persistent messaging. The fact that he is so affectionate with you (as it sounds like), makes this sound like this infatuation can turn into an obsession and something abusive (worse case, not saying that it WILL happen, but it can accumulate pretty rapidly). Next thing you know, the clingy nature of this guy will make him dependent on you to give him what he wants. From the sound of it, your compliance matters more to him than the assertion of your position of remaining platonic friends. If he isn't as bad as I'm making him sound- just be aware at the fact that his clingyness can get to a point that they'll threaten to kill themselves if you give him what he wants (abusive and manipulative). Again, I'm not saying that this will happen, but I've had some bad indirect experiences with ppl online poisoning my relationships i.e. my friend and my sister. I almost had a falling out with my friend who used to take out her anger and frustrations about the online "friend" (more like fiend) on us. My sister on the other hand, seems to become more introverted and estranged. Common factor: they're emotionally abusive and moody. My friend has gotten better though after I verbally slapped her. Sis on the other hand, is progressively getting worse.
Extreme Positive: Marriage, relationship, etc. I'm totally biased, I know, but I can't help but think some online relationships make people too emotionally invested and corrodes people's ability to appreciate what they have irl. Of course, this is not always the case, but I don't see this relationship getting to the point of becoming this positive. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to expand your social life on the web, I mean, my aunt found a hubby.
In-between: Just as it says, you'll have your good and bad moments with this friend. Not too close, not too far, just right there. Casual relationship is what sounds like your ideal. You HAVE to feel comfortable if you plan on meeting this guy. DON'T DO IT OUT OF OBLIGATION OR FEEL LIKE YOU OWE HIM ANYTHING. Comfort comes first, trust your instincts. If he sends you gifts? His choice, your gain. You don't need to give him anything back if he's willing to give. I think some of the commentators aren't seeing the signs I'm seeing.
Call me paranoid, but I'm extremely observant with such behaviors. Not that I'm a trained professional or anything, but I do watch a lot of documentaries about such behaviors in my free time, and I've also experienced the negative side-effects indirectly and objectively. Since you've been through the negatives, I suggest you don't try to see this through rose-colored lenses. I don't think a lot of people have experienced the consequences or are just too optimistic. Good luck.