Omegle proves a safer alternative to Chatroulette

Last year, as a freshman, I discovered the website Chatroulette.com.

For those who do not know, Chatroulette is an online site developed by 17-year-old Andrey Ternovskiy, that allows anyone with a webcam to be randomly paired with another person to video chat.

You cannot pick the person you are paired with. If you grow bored if your partner, or do not wish to chat with them, you can click the "next" button and you will have a new person to chat with.

It's amazing how many people are on the site. According to an article by Helen A.S. Popkin on Msnbc.com, up to 50,000 people worldwide use the site at one time.

So when I discovered the website, I immediately showed it to my roommate. We then showed it to a couple of floormates. My floormates showed it to our Residential Advisor. Pretty soon, roughly half of my floor was well aware of, and using, Chatroulette.

While the site can be a calling for men and women looking to expose themselves over the internet, I did meet a few normal (and clothed) people. I've talked with people from England, Canada and even Chile. It's cool being able to talk to and feel connected to people all over the world.

Of course, there are obvious dangers to video chatting with complete strangers over the Internet. I wouldn't recommend giving out your address, your full name or your phone number.

As long as you don't give out your personal information, then you're fine. As mentioned before, if you don't feel comfortable chatting with the person you've been paired with, you can easily "next" them.

This past summer I visited the site. It was the first time in four months, and a few of my friends from home had talked me into it. I was disappointed.

The site has been almost completely overtaken by naked men. There was no one to have an actual conversation with, until my friend introduced me to Omegle.com.

Omegle, like Chatroulette, is a site that randomly pairs people up together to video chat. In the same format as Chatroulette, you can also "next" your partners.

Unlike Chatroulette, however, Omegle has an option for people who don't own webcams. You can be paired with another person sans webcam and type your conversation, rather than actually speak to one another.

Omegle is much better than Chatroulette, especially when it comes to weeding out those wishing to expose themselves. There were many more fully-dressed people on the site. My friends and I were able to have a conversation with a guy from Sweden and everyone kept their clothes on.

I wouldn't recommend parents letting their kids on the website — I've seen kids as young as 10 on Chatroulette — but for an 18-year-old, it can be really fun. As long as you and your friends are smart about what information you do or don't give out, it can lend itself to a lot of laughs.

The way I look at it, sites like Chatroulette and Omegle are engines that literally allow a single person to be connected with someone half way across the world.

Next time you and your friends are bored, I recommend you check out either of these sites, but, like I said, you're likely to have more luck on Omegle.com. Happy chatting!