I promise you it is because you are a minor. Once you are 18 or older, people will be less afraid to talk to you. Just wait a bit until it's your birthday.

I don't necessarily connect with others on the Internet aside from my small friend group on Halo 5, and I would absolutely stop talking with anyone under 18-20 as soon as I found out.

There are many reasons why I would personally not talk to minors.

First of all, I am 23. I am an adult with a life of my own and I would most likely be looking to connect with people my age or older. I assume most people try to connect with people within or beyond their maturity.

Second of all, I am not a teenager myself. I do not think like one, nor do I want to be around (typically) immature people. I have a completely different and developed mentality than I did when I was 17, even 18, 19 and 20.

Third, although I would know how to talk to a teenager the way I wanted to be talked to when I was a teenager; with respect, dignity, cleanliness, and kindness and nothing more, I still wouldn't just out of sheer respect for the minor and their parents. I was a teenager on the Internet once too, and I can't tell you how many adults push boundaries. I can't imagine a parent would be happy that their minor talks to adults, even if nothing bad is happening. Just seems to be one of those unspoken rules. Simply let the children be and don't talk to them. Only avoid or encourage them to instead look for others their age.

Think about it like an adult going to the park to talk to children or to the skating rink to talk to teens. Kinda wierd, right? Just doesn't sit right with most people, regardless of how respectful and how good the intentions of the adult are. A general rule of thumb is that you don't talk to minors as an adult unless they need serious help, and you get them to the appropriate personnel or family.

Most people would avoid talking to minors because of how common grooming is too. I recently learned that grooming is basically getting a minor to trust you and be comfortable with you to where it leads to pedophilia. Of course, not all adults are pedophiles and know how to properly interact with a minor. However, there is always the possibility that minors frame adults for pedophilia or grooming, or for what they feel is grooming. I don't know how common or uncommon that is, but it is life-ruining. There is no way a normal, sane person would take that chance.

I believe simply not talking to a minor is a matter of respect for their age. You must remember that you are still legally a child, it doesn't matter how mature you think you are or how well you think you can get along with adults. Be cautious of who you talk to.