Why is it easier to "come out" to someone I just met than to my friends of years?

I've done this before specifically online. I came out to my first person on tumblr actually, it was terrifying but easier because this new person is not connected to my life at all, they don't know anyone I know so there was no risk or anyone close to me knowing. (In fact it took a year for me to come out to the people closest to me). New people are easy because I either never talk to them again or they live a completely separate life to mine. With friends I feel there's so much more at stake years of friendships and you're exposing a huge part of yourself and there's a lot more to lose there, so it's often the case people worry more about it.

Probably because the fear of rejection is different. If your good friends reject you, that's a much bigger deal that if someone you just met rejects you, because your friend's opinion is much more valuable to you.

this is because we know our friends from years and they know us from a long time, and we do know that we will be knowing them in our future. so a thought arises in our mind that tell us that if we have to stay with our friends for longer then what will he or she will think about when we tell him that we are not the one they think we are. whereas when we just meet we don't have any such corner for them and we dont care about what will they think about if they find out who we are.....its just psychology...

Because you're not afraid of judgment, you don't think about what they will say because they are a stranger and it likely won't matter to you what they think. On the other hand, close friends and family member's opinions are important to you, so its harder to come out to them

For me, I'd say its because there's still some sense of anonmitity between you and said new person. That's why telling the whole internet I'm pansexual is easier than telling my (gay, even) cousin.

well it's because they don't really know you like your best friend knows your family and stuff like that . When the trust in the relationship is looser , its easier

I think we expect that there's so much more to lose with people we've known for a long time. If it's someone you just met, you often don't care too much about what they think. That being said, I think there's a lot of other reasons. I've experienced this myself, and I can't say I know exactly why things are this way.

i think it is easier because you do not have a connection that can be ripped apart with the person that you have known for a long time. You do not want to lose the person that you have known for a long time, so you go to someone new.

I'd say it's because when you've just met someone, you don't have too much of an emotional attachment to them, and they have never known you as someone else. However, when it's someone you've known for years, they are a person who has had a ginormous impact on your life and you coming out to them as something other than what they originally saw you as, is something that can be hard because you may be afraid of losing them, whereas if it's someone you just met, it wouldn't matter as much.

It's probably because strangers don't have as much of an emotional influence on you than those close to you. If a stranger responds badly, you might be offended but you can shrug it off more easily. If it's a close friend or a family member, however, it's going to hurt so much more. So the possibility of rejection and makes it more difficult to come out.