Frustrated and need advice

FYI: I’m VERY new to the game so I apologize if any of this sounds confusing.

I keep losing online game after online game even though I feel like I’m developing and protecting my pieces pretty well. Then I start making mistakes and blunders I don’t see. I’ve been doing the lessons as much as I can and practicing the tactics with the bots, but every time I join an online match I get pummelled.

The game says I’m around a 900elo… Idk how it got that number in the first place but I’m beginning to think I’m playing against opponents that are waaayy better than I am even though they’re a lower rating than me. That being said, I feel I deserve a much lower rating than a ~900.

I would share my most recent game but don’t know how to. If I copy paste the game link it’ll just show up in rather lengthy notation.

You have only played 9 games so your rating is still adjusting. The reason your rating is still high is partly because you self-rated as intermediate when you signed up and partly because you won your first game against another self-rated intermediate first game player.

 

That gave you a 1362 rating after your first game. You have been working that down ever since.  Don't worry. Your rating will soon adjust to the appropriate level.

Chess online os just trash. Mamy peuple use bots, other idiots make their moves from videos or books and if u dont remember first 20 moves u dont win against this dumbs. So my advice is dont play chess online cuz this game is not worth time.

Intermediate - (1200 rating start point) was definitely not the way to go if your still very new to chess. But it will adjust to proximately your real rating sooner or later after playing many games.

Do you think 10 min games are long enough for you to check the board for threats and tactics ?

Longer games are probably going to help your learning process.  Consider daily game where you can take the time to fully explore your move options (and your opponent's responses).  I think less time pressure will help.

 

Also, don't forget to go to the analysis board to learn from your games.  Identify the places where you made mistakes and then explore the better moves/lines shown by the computer.

Ok all of your comments make complete sense now. Idk why or how I self-ranked at intermediate but I'll just keep playing games with longer time constraints, puzzles, using the analyze board button, and just keep playing. I guess putting in as many games as I can against real players and not bots may give me some much needed lessons, especially after my rating adjusts to my actual skill level. Thanks for the good information!

I know your opponent didn't follow with 1. f3 either, but following opening principles might help you reach 1000+ chess.com rating with some practice implementing

https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again 

Always check your intended move is no blunder before you play it. This little mental discipline is enough to get you to 1500 rating. As long as you hang pieces and pawns all study is in vain.
As to time control 15|10 is recommended.

Bah I was posting this 12 hours ago when the whole city lost power:

I have tried to highlight all the hanging material and missed Mates in 1. For purposes of this discussion, I consider a piece hanging if it can be captured by a lower-value piece even if it is defended (i.e. Trading a bishop for a rook wins 2p total)

Note that taking a hanging piece is not always the best move, but it is important to SEE all the hanging pieces, and in this game pieces were hanging nearly every move:

 

As @RainleyBoop said, I too struggling a bit even though I play online game consecutively, please clarify me 🙏🏻

You could just delete your current account and make a new one starting at the lowest level.....or just take a bunch of loses until you reach your actual level. My wife still gets pumpelled around 300 elo lol iuno how much lower she can go lol