Hanna Barker
Staff Reporter
Recently, I’ve become swept into the internet phenomenon of Chatroulette, which was created by Russian 17-year-old Andrey Ternovskiy for his personal entertainment and the entertainment of his friends.. The thrill of being transported into a stranger’s life is worth the occasional encounters with X-rated body parts. This site is not for the squeamish, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Here’s what happens- Go to chatroulette.com and click “Play” to begin. Within seconds, you will be connected via webcam with a complete stranger. There is also a chat box, which I’ve found to be more effective than vocal communication, because quite honestly, the audio sucks. If you like what you see or hear, continue the conversation. But if you get bored, you can click “Next.” Be warned, it is highly likely that you will be “nexted” within seconds. I took it personally at first, until I became comfortable with nexting people myself.
I’ve spoken to people in Italy, Russia, the UK, Germany, and Mexico. My friend and I had a calculator party with a French university student (we both had Texas Instruments). I was serenaded by a trio of frat boys. I watched a teenage boy dance around like a crazy person. I told a group of Turkish students about college in America. I chatted about the weather with a girl in New York. I was yelled at by some Russian man. My roommate and I had a Spongebob show and tell session with some college students somewhere in America. I chanced upon a young girl who repeatedly made silly faces into the camera.
While there are many entertaining situations that can arise from this website, there are also some very uncomfortable ones. I saw way too many people choking the chicken, if you know what I mean. A random girl told me that if I showed her mine, she’d show me hers. One particularly creative guy held up a sign that said, “Show tits for Haiti.” A deceptively kind-looking old man said, “Hello, Angel,” and winked at me.
Couples engaged in private acts on this very public forum. Thankfully, there is an option to report such misuse of the site. I honestly don’t know how effective this is, because an account is not necessary to use Chatroulette and it would be difficult to track these people down, but hey, at least they try.
People take advantage of the anonymity provided by Chatroulette in many different ways, as exemplified above. It’s great because you can avoid awkward situations with the “Next” button. You can experience other cultures from the safety of your room.
Personally, I’m glad such a thing only exists on the Internet, because I’d be sad to live in a world where you could click people away.