Online romances are definitely a thing, but it's just not for everyone, really.
Some people tend to be quite terrible with socializing in real, due to being very shy and overall just not good with the communication thing, can be lack of confidence for example. Therefore they rather seek to online romances, but those are just examples, there's also those who aren't shy, great in real, but still manage to find online romances. Me having been one of them, it's quite nice to get an online romance from time to time, it can be easier at some points, but more challenging at other points. Depending on who it is you find online, it can feel truly amazing, even though there's the distance between the two of you. As long as it's the right person.
Also it is very possible to meet up in real, this one girl and I met on a website, then exchanged Skype and Facebook, and from there continued our long talks, really great connection, then met a few times in real, an amazing time it was. So just because you meet each other online, isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Some positive things that come from starting online: You build a great bond together, which is merely dependent on communication, you also have to build great trust towards each other, since you won't know what each other is doing 24/7, you have to trust the other person. Most relationships in real are kinda pushed / forced, not a lot of communication, always being together, eventually the communication starts fading a little for many people, but if you start off online, the communication is kind of all you have, therefore you build a strong bond, and if you're serious about each other, it can lead to a good and healthy relationship once you decide to get together in real. (Just my opinion though, some may disagree)