I'd agree with your aunt. I too am beginning and I play with an acoustic and acoustic electric and an electric. I usually play with all three when I'm practicing. I wear my fingers out on the acoustic for a while and I enjoy the softer more melodious sound. Then, I'll plug into the amp and play it as an electric acoustic for a while just to see how what I've been play sounds through the amp. By then my fingers are fairly tender and I'll switch to the electric which has easier strings. Sometimes I run the electric through a VAMP2 and sometimes not, it depends on how wild I want to get. The electric sounds better when you screw up or don't hit a note correctly.

I think what really matters most is playing something that holds your interest enough to make you want to continue to play. I enjoy the electric through the VAMP2 more than anything else because I can sit and fiddle with the knobs to get a lot of different sounds. I can play this combo for hours and not get bored. So I'd say play whatever keeps you playing.

I am a beginner so anything I say could probably get me shot. :D