My son is 17 now, and for years I begged him to go hang out with friends. Didn't want to. He wanted to "meet" them online in games every Fri/Sat night (the nights he was allowed to play video games).

I thought about cutting off the video games, but it was his only form of socialization, so I was really hesitant to try that experiment.

I have had dozens of conversations with him, over the years, about the possible negative side effects of not meeting people in person (for later in life, when patterns solidify).

Now, he does go to parties with his online friends a few times a year. There are usually 8-10 of them there and they have pizza and watch movies. Usually is a bday party (but he never wants to do this for his bday).

I've given up trying to influence him (given his age). He is very mature in most ways. I'm just worried about the future.