4 Unexpected Benefits of Random Video Chatting
Visit any random chat site’s home page, and you’ll see them talking about how you can make new friends, meet people from around the world, or add some variety to your social life. While all of this is true, there’s more to it than that. Sure, making friends and getting outside your regular social bubble are perfectly good reasons to start video chatting; but once you get a bit more context about what you’re getting into, you may appreciate it even more.
If you’re chatting on a site like Chatrandom, for instance, you can get started on your first chat session in seconds – no registration necessary. However, you could be missing out on some key background information. Not that you have to know this background information in order to chat, but it can definitely enhance your video chatting experience.
- Random chatting exposes you to more cultural variety
Traveling abroad is a big commitment, and for some people, a trip to another country is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if your city happens to have a lot of cultural diversity, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you can just plug into whatever community you want to be a part of. If you’re random video chatting, though, connecting with someone from another country can be as easy as hitting the “next chat” button. If you end up being a chat partner with someone from across the world, you have a chance to not only learn about them, but about their cultural norms, sayings, food traditions, and more.
Most random video chat sites have users from many different countries; some may have chatters from a few dozen countries, while others can have users of over 100 nationalities. If you’re interested in the international aspect of random chatting, make sure you choose a chat site that offers plenty of variety. Another quick tip: the different time zones of all the international users will determine when they’re online. If you feel like you aren’t actually talking to people from that many countries, it’s possible that half of them are asleep whenever you’re chatting.
- Random chatting can push your boundaries (in a good way)
Online interactions can definitely be a mixed bag. A few people take advantage of the fact that there isn’t as much accountability online, but in most cases it’s just people who aren’t as concerned about making the right impression. You might meet fellow chatters who are painfully blunt, or a few who just weird you out a bit. If you can take these interactions in stride, you might end up learning a few things that you never thought about before.
The majority of your chats will probably be pretty chill – just a couple of strangers hanging out online. When you do come across a curveball, though, you have two different choices. You could try to find a different chat partner, or you could hear them out just to see what happens. Even if you find yourselves on opposite sides of an argument, this could get you thinking about why you think the way you do – and maybe why you should think a little differently.
An important disclaimer: getting your feathers ruffled in a debate is a lot different than sitting through a genuinely uncomfortable video chat. If your chat partner is being intimidating, rude, or inappropriate, it’s safe to assume that you won’t get anything out of that chat – just move onto the next one.
- Random chatting increases your chances of actually connecting with strangers
The internet has been touted as a way to meet strangers of all kinds. Pretty much anyone with an internet connection can potentially talk in real-time with people from all parts of the globe. But do they? Not that much. Most of the time, your online “friends” are just the people whose profiles got recommended to you by a social media algorithm. Sometimes it’s possible to form friendships online, but that’s quite rare.
Here’s a little mental exercise: imagine yourself picking a random Facebook connection and striking up a conversation on your own initiative. You might have a brief text chat, but you probably couldn’t get away with a call or a video chat. Plus, it’s likely that the other person would be waiting for your essential oils sales pitch the entire time. People just don’t have those kinds of interactions in most online venues.
With video chatting, on the other hand, connecting with strangers online is the whole point. You may not feel a special connection with every person you chat with; sometimes you’ll even skip over the person you just matched with because they don’t seem like a compatible chat partner. However, you can still depend on finding plenty of people who are happy to stick around for a chat.
- Random chatting is more secure than many online interactions
If you have any experience online, you probably already know about the risks of scams, malware, and similar attempts on your personal information. If you’re on a random chat site, however, you can chat with complete anonymity. Many of these sites don’t require you to make an account – and if you don’t have an account, nobody can hack it!
This isn’t a totally foolproof way to ward off scammers, but it’s pretty effective as long as you hold up your end. In other words, nobody can steal your personal details unless you give them away yourself. But what if you want to make an account? After all, many sites offer some perks for their registered members. Your information is still secure; short of an attempt by professional hackers, nobody will be able to view much besides your first name, country, or age.
These are the basics; you’ll probably find out some of your own benefits once you start random chatting.
Whether you’re chatting to mix up your usual entertainment options, or to broaden your social life, random video chatting is versatile enough to keep you coming back for more.