3.04.2010

ChatRoulette: terrifying technology?


Have you all heard of Chatroulette? I'm kind of freaked out by the whole thing. Like speed-dating taken to a whole new level of randomness, you leave it up to Chatroulette to randomly select who your chat partner will be, from anywhere around the world, and within seconds you're videochatting with a total stranger. Beware though, it's likely you'll get "nexted" - meaning your chat partner will take one look at you and click "next" before you even get a chance to say hello - at least a few times.

The sheer fact that the number of Chatroulette users has grown from 300 in December 2009 to 10,000 by the beginning of Feb. 2010 speaks to its addiction/trend factor (plus its terrifyingness, in my opinion [yes, I know that's not a real word]).

Although these twin guys seem to have found each other...

For all you need to know about Chatroulette, just watch this video from Casey Neistat (which is very funny) or read the New Yorker article about the site.



I don't know, I haven't been that bored in a while. I'd rather spend my free time doing something else, or at least talking to my actual friends, not just random people. What do you think? Have you tried it out yet? If so, were you "nexted"?

Disclaimer: I didn't think this needed stating since it's pretty obvious, but just in case you need it spelled out for you, Chatroulette is not appropriate for children (in my opinion, at least). With any kind of unedited platform like Chatroulette, there is bound to be a plethora of weirdos and pervs trolling the site, so be forewarned for your child or yourself if you plan to give it a look.

I mean, this guy is pretty tame compared to what (or who) I've heard is on there:

All screenshots from BuzzFeed.

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