You know, I had the same thought process, but reading is reading. These might be one step down from traditional fiction because you don't learn from professional, but you can get a more raw understanding of how people think through fanfiction. Also, as a college english education major, I'd love to inform your parents that some of the oldest and most respected writers of the ancient world that influenced literature today wrote fanfiction about the authors before them, but it wasn't considered fanfiction back then because it was more of an upper class thing. So not supporting fanfiction is like saying the lower class and amateurs don't deserve support for their hard work. You are absolutely supported by me, you wonderful person.