A new video chat service has been getting quite a bit of buzz lately. Chatroulette is a free online video chat service that has quickly become the Internet's latest craze. Even funny man Jon Stewart recently shared his online Chatroulette experience with his television viewers. Stewart chatted with Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Keith Olberman and an embarrassed Brian Williams on the new social media site.
What is Chatroulette?
The social networking service, created by 17-year-old high school student Andrey Ternovskiy, launched in November, 2009. In just a few months, the service has grown from about 500 to over 20,000 users per day. The premise of Chatroulette could not be simpler. Visit the website and the service automatically connects you with a totally random video chat partner. Users interact with other users via webcam, microphone or text chat. This online voyeuristic form of speed dating, takes a quick peek into the lives of random strangers.
How to Play Chatroulette
“Playing” is easy. Users are greeted with two large black boxes and a blank area for chatting. Click the “new game” button at the top of the page to start. Right click to change settings and click “remember” to save for further games. Chat sounds, clean chat log and auto start options are located underneath the webcam box. According to the website, new features are in the works.
The one-on-one, face-to-face service allows users to basically say or do anything without consequences. Whether the images are bizarre, silly, titillating or downright vulgar, first impressions really do matter in Chatroulette. Users are able to chat with someone as long as they wish, or can click the “next” button for a new random video chat partner. For many people, the appealing aspect of the service is its anonymity factor - there are no profiles, no names and no web addresses. Everything is totally anonymous.
Chatroulette and Children
While Chatroulette can be entertaining for adults, the service should not be viewed by children. Although the website’s Terms of Service states the service “does not tolerate broadcasting obscene, offending, pornographic material” and users who violate the terms will be blocked, nudity, pornographic acts and graphic material is readily available on the site. A link is also available for users to report inappropriate content.
And although the TOS states users must be at least 16 years of age to join the service, users are not asked to enter a date of birth. That said, sessions are not supervised and many of the images on the site are inappropriate for children. And chatting with strangers is not recommended. It is important for parents to be aware of Chatroutlette and other similar services, especially if children have easy access to webcams.
Chatroulette offers a brief and surreal snapshot into people’s lives. While the video chat service can be entertaining for adults, it is not recommended for children. For more online safety information, visit Keeping Children Safe Online, Social Networking Concerns, What is Cyberbullying?
Jace Shoemaker-Galloway - +JaceShoemaker-Galloway is more than passionate about online safety awareness. She has devoted and dedicated over five years to Internet ...
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