Chat Roulette – Should Parents Be Concerned?
Chatroulette is the latest internet craze that randomly connects users to strangers from all over the world, via their webcams.
Child advocates are expressing growing concern over the live online chat site that regularly features people disrobing or performing other lewd acts for the entertainment of the person at the other end. They further express concern that chatroulette could be providing a platform for child predators who have easy access to a forum that most certainly features adolescents. The Chatroulette site clearly states that the user must be 16 to use the live online chat, but doubts have been expressed that this ruled is routinely followed. Users report that a great deal of what goes on in within the Chatroulette windows is regularly obscene. Some claim that on the site, for every one cool person you talk to, you get 25 weirdos or perverts.
Access is fairly basic. Fire up your webcam, surf over to Chatroulette.com and click the play button. You are then greeted with folks from all over the world on you computer screen… ready for online chat. You can take a look and decide if you want to chat with that person… if not, hit the next button and move on to someone new.
What can parents do?
1. Make sure there is no computer in your child’s room. Kids don’t need a webcam in their room.
2. Block Chatroulette on your child’s Web browser.
3. Talk to your kids about what the site is and why you do not want them on a live online chat.
Child advocates continue to monitor the site, but as it gains in popularity and the controversy continues to swirl, the adolescent brain will be drawn to the adventure of it all and it will be in the hands of parents to monitor their children’s online activities.