Teen Chat Rooms

Chat rooms are often popular among teenagers as an online social gathering spot. Some chat rooms are focused on specific ages, backgrounds and interests. Other teen chat rooms are general purpose and attract a large number of teens of all ages. Teen chat rooms can be a useful way for teens to meet others of like interests, as well as network with individuals from around the world. However, teen chat rooms have also been critiqued as being a haven for online predators. Teenagers need to know how to interact safely within a chat room.

History

Teen chat rooms have evolved slowly over the past decade, though the overall idea of chat rooms has been in place for more than 30 years. One of the first online chat rooms was created in 1974 and named Talkomatic. This was followed by the release of the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) system. IRC quickly gained popularity among young adults and teenagers. In fact, it is still in use today. While IRC was the main chat room network with a largely teenage demographic, teen-specific chat rooms were developed in the 1990s based on Java and Flash technology. Unlike IRC and instant messaging, these teen chat rooms did not rely on a specific piece of software or program, such as MSN Messenger, to operate. This effectively allowed any teenager to access a chat room without having to download a program, increasing the popularity of such teen-focused chat rooms.

Types

Teen chat rooms can largely be divided into text-based chat rooms and video-based chat rooms (which generally also allow users to interact via text). Text-based chat rooms limit teens' chatting to text as the title suggests. Examples include MSN Zone and most Flash- and Java-based chat rooms, such as Chatpit and Chat-Avenue. Video-based chat rooms have overtaken text-based chat rooms in terms of popularity among teenagers. This is largely due to the willingness of teens to become early adopters of web technologies. In this case, many teens started using web cameras connected to their computers to interact via streaming video. Several of the most popular teen chat rooms, such as Stickam, are focused on video chat rooms.

Features

Teen chat rooms feature much of the same functions as general chat rooms. Most users are required to register a screen name through which all of their chat interactions are carried out. In text-based chat websites, teens choose a room (usually organized by interest or age) and are able to converse with anyone in the room. The features of a video-based chat room are slightly more complex. Such sites feature streaming video technologies that connect several web cam feeds and display them in a single chat room. Due to the bandwidth and complexities of such technologies, video-based chat rooms generally limit the amount of individuals allowed to chat at once. For example, Stickam (one of the largest video chat websites for teens) only allows nine individuals to chat at once. Both text- and video-based chat rooms allow teens to block other users and send private messages. Some also include other social networking features, such as email systems and message boards.

Warning

A PBS/Frontline documentary reported that some teenagers are harassed or receive inappropriate solicitations in teen chat rooms. Oftentimes, the parents of these teenagers are not aware that their children chat with other teens online. For this reason, teen chat rooms are often criticized for not protecting underage users from digital bullying. Various consumer groups have also raised concern that sexual predators may use teen chat rooms to talk to minors, and that teenagers are not always aware that the individuals with whom they chat with may not be who they claim they are. Parents must warn their teens about the potential pitfalls and dangers of chatting online. Teenagers should also be vigilant and aware of warning signs of improper chatting, such as the request for inappropriate pictures or phone calls.

Considerations

Many of the larger, more popular teen chat rooms require the latest computer and web-based technologies for teens to take full advantage of their features. Most chat rooms require a broadband or high speed Internet connection for best results. Such an Internet connection is essential for video-based chat rooms, as a dial-up Internet connection would not be able to stream web cam feeds at a high enough bit rate. However, dial-up is generally sufficient for text-based chat rooms. Also, the latest version of Adobe Flash is required for most chat room websites.