How Video Chat Sites Are Making A Quarantine Comeback?

When the pandemic started, people started to work from home. There was a Zoom boom and Google Meet gave a resounding competition too which was soon followed by its fatigue. Later, everyone became a gamer and Discord became highly popular. People believed lockdown will hamper their life just for a few weeks, but then reality hit hard with the months-long lockdown. Even now when the lockdown is over, the old normal is nowhere in sight and we have just accepted the new normal. We are still careful where and why we are going and not to forget, a face covered mask hinders the fun element but guess, we don’t have any choice. 

Perhaps this is the reason why video chat sites which came and faded away saw a rise again. For many people, Omegle.com and Chatroulette.com came to the rescue. Are you wondering who even uses these video chat sites nowadays? It seems like everyone is on these video chat sites. 

If you have no idea what is going on, now is the time to throw some light on it. Omegle is a video chatting website which connects users with random visitors both via text and video. The website was started in 2009 by Leif K-Brooks. Chatroulette is another website which is very much similar to Omegle. It was started after Omegle and followed its footsteps. This website doesn’t even need any kind of registration to enjoy the social experience in the digital world. 

Recently, both these websites saw a resurgence from the teenage users who are getting bored at home due to limited socializing, Both Omegle and Chatroulette gives the users a platform to meet random strangers from all across the globe. The Gen Z is totally loving these websites to have some gala time. Not only normal teenagers but also celebrities are using Omegle to have some fun with their fans. 

However, not everything is as rosy as it seems on Omegle and Chatroulette. As the websites pair the users with random visitors, sometimes unpleasant shocks are also on the store. Trying to understand the gravity of the situation? Well, let’s just say that the homepage of Omegle clearly states that, “predators have been known to use Omegle, so please be careful.” The high level of anonymity promoted by these video websites has resulted in lots and lots of sexual porn stuff. This was even the reason why the popularity of these video websites faded away. It doesn’t provide a very safe environment for the users. 

The interesting thing is that despite this dark part of the websites, people are still using it. Cyberpsychologist Dr Joanne Meredith has explained the unruly behaviour in these websites. According to her, people treat the online world as a game. Hence, people behave in a manner which is not their normal self or perhaps, it is their normal self which they have hidden from society. This is further heightened from the no string attached feel. A traditional social media platform requires some sort of transparency in terms of identity but this is not the case with Omegle and Chatroulette that doesn’t even need any registration. It is further said that people love to interact with strangers because it frees them from any kind of judgement or the need to make proper statements because of social constructs. In short, the amount of freedom is intense which also makes one feel comfortable too. This is good for general well-being. 

Having talked about the unsolicited content that one can find in these video websites, it is also important to understand that during the pandemic time, even the normal, in other words, civilized people are also staying at home and they are also using these websites and therefore, the ratio has changed a bit. You will find an ample number of people with whom you can have a decent conversation for sure. You can use these websites for some time, actually, till the time you don’t feel safe go outside and have one to one interaction, you can rely on these websites to have some fun in the new normal. 

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