Finding An Online Chat Alternative Built For Your Needs
Medically Reviewed By Whitney White, MS. CMHC, NCC., LPCHave you been scouring the internet for an online chat alternative that’s right for you but keeps coming up short? Over the years, online chat has become a popular way to connect with people worldwide and make new friends. Finding the right online chat has a lot to do with your needs and the reason why you’re looking to chat with someone online in the first place. If you settle on the first chat room you find, you might find yourself frustrated and unhappy with the people you meet.
There are many ways to chat with people online these days, compared to just a few decades ago. Email, forums, instant messaging services, and social networks are a few methods that come to mind. Chat rooms are another popular option that allows you to exchange messages with people anonymously instantly. If you aren’t used to using these kinds of sites and services, the number of online chat options out there can make the process of choosing one seem overwhelming.
If you’ve tried out a few online chatting options and can’t seem to find what you’re looking for, that’s okay. The right alternative is out there; you need to know how/where to look. If you keep on trying random chat rooms and aren’t satisfied, it could be a sign that you aren’t looking in the right places. Does this sound right? If it does, it’s time for you to re-group and change your strategy. Here are three simple steps that you can follow to find the perfect online chat alternative to suit your needs:
- Figure Out Your ‘Why’
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to meet new people and seek connection with others, and the internet gives us a convenient way to do this. Ask yourself why you want to chat with people online specifically. The reason could be something simple, like boredom, or something more complex, like you have social anxiety and prefer making friends on the internet over in-person. It could also be that your busy schedule with work and family makes it hard to get out and meet new people in your area.
According to a survey conducted by Whitty, M.T. (2002), “[P]eople who spend more time in chat rooms were more likely to be open about themselves, receive emotional support, and give emotional support. Women were more likely than men to give emotional support. Men were more likely than women to lie and were more likely to lie about their socioeconomic status. In contrast, women were more likely to lie for safety reasons.” Studies like this can help you decide if regular chat rooms are right for you.
To confide in, or want people to talk to and pass the time? Are you lonely and want to flirt or find someone to start a relationship with? Your answer to these types of questions will also help. What are your goals when it comes to online chat? Are you looking for emotional support and someone you find what you’re looking for?
- Decide On Your Criteria
One way to find a chat alternative that suits your needs is by developing a list of criteria that a chat room, service, or alternative must meet for you to consider using it. These could be things that you want, like a chat room where you can talk to people in your area, a chat room that’s age-specific, a monitored chat room, or a free or paid service. Deciding what you’re looking for and even making a list will help you quickly rule out options that don’t suit your needs, so you don’t waste time.
Similarly, you can do this with things that you don’t want in a chat alternative. For instance, you may not want to have to register or give away any personal information. Other deal breakers might be chat rooms that promote sexually explicit chat and hookup culture because that’s not the type of online relationship you’re looking for. Knowing what you don’t want is another way that you can speed up the process of finding the right online chat alternative for you.
A study of teen chat rooms by Subrahmanyam, K., Smahel, D., & Greenfield, P. (2006) found that “Participants who self-identified as female produced more implicit sexual communication, participants who self-identified as male produced more explicit sexual communication. The protected environment of the monitored chat (hosts who enforce basic behavioral rules) contained an environment with less explicit sexuality and fewer obscenities than the freer environment of unmonitored chat.”
At first glance, it may seem like all chat rooms are the same, but this shows that small differences like whether a chat room is monitored can make a big difference in the users and types of conversations you see online. So, if a non-sexual environment with less obscenity is important to you, a type of monitored chat is the way to go.
Once you know why you want to find a chat alternative and what you are or are not looking for, it should be easier to narrow down your options from the many out there.
- Choose A Chat Alternative
Many online chat rooms connect you with a random variety of people, so you never know what to expect. Different ‘rooms’ may try separating users by age and interests, but they can still be hit or miss. You may find many people using sexual or explicit language or meet many people you don’t connect with. If you’re looking for something deeper than random entertainment and talking to strangers, here are a few alternatives to online chat rooms you may want to consider:
Groups and Forums
Groups and forums can help you connect with like-minded people and are a little more selective than most chat room services. Some have moderators that help ensure proper conduct amongst users and keep out trolls and other people looking to mess with the group’s vibe. You can find groups and forums for any purpose, including support groups, groups based on specific hobbies or interests, religious groups, etc. You can find groups hosted on Google, Facebook, and other websites.
Online Counselling
If you’re looking for emotional support online, it’s not impossible to find, but it can be not easy. It can be hard to know if someone you meet has the right intentions or can be trusted. That’s where online counseling can come in handy, especially if in-person counseling is not for you. Services like Regain offer affordable relationship counseling for couples and individuals. These services are helpful and connect you with a trustworthy professional who is qualified to help. If you want scientifically backed advice, support, and help with life’s challenges, therapy is the way to go.
Online Dating Services
If you’re looking for a relationship, an online dating service can help you find a match better than an online chat room. Although these services aren’t perfect, and you may still meet some people who aren’t your cup of tea, there are benefits to going with a dating service. A few reasons include the fact that more real people are looking for the same thing (a relationship). Dating services can be more efficient because they connect you to people with the same values and interests.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a teen or an adult, hopping on an online chat room can be fun sometimes. These are places where you can talk to people of all ages worldwide and be entertaining because you never really know what to expect. Of course, depending on your values and why you want to chat with people online, you may find basic popular chat rooms are not suited to your tastes. For many people, generic chat rooms can be a waste of time.
This doesn’t mean that the internet isn’t a great tool for finding and meeting new people with who you can connect on a deep, meaningful level. The trick is knowing why you want to chat with people online, what you want (and don’t want) to get out of your online chat interactions, and where you can go to find what you’re looking for. Alternatives like groups, forums, online counseling, and online dating services can be a good place to start.
If you want to stick to chat rooms because they allow instantaneous messaging, keep in mind that different features like moderated chat can create a better experience. You can also find chat rooms that attempt to sort people by things like age and interest. When talking to anyone online in a chat room, be careful to protect your personal information for your safety. You can meet great friends online through chat rooms, but you can also fall prey to predators if you aren’t careful.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best free online chat site?
The best free online chat site will depend on your needs and wants. If you want to talk to strangers or chat with random people and don’t have anything in particular that you’d like to talk about, general random chat sites may work for you. Alternatively, if you want to talk to strangers or engage in video chatting, webcam chat, or chat or type using your phone or laptop keyboard about a particular topic, your best bet would be to look for a chat or type website, webcam chat or video chatting website, or a text or video chat app that is focused on that topic. For example, if you’re looking for an LGBTQIA+ chat partner, you’d want to find a chat partner on a site or app designated for the LGBTQIA+ community. You can find what you’re looking for by searching “LGBTQIA+ video chatting,” “random chat sites LGBTQIA+,” or “LGBTQIA+ chat.” This is only one example, however. There are sites dedicated to finding a chat partner for dating, finding a chat partner that likes the same video games as you do, finding a chat partner to talk about mental health (or even finding a chat partner to talk about a specific mental health condition with, finding a completely anonymous way to talk to strangers or finding an anonymous chat partner, and so on. If you search for “Talk to strangers,” “chat with random people,” “chat with strangers,” webcam chat partner,” “video chatting with strangers,” “chat with random people,” “webcam chat,” or “video chat app,” there will be a ton of options, so if you are indeed looking for something more specific, make sure to specify when conducting your web search. These days, if you’re interested in finding a chat partner for video chatting or something else, pretty much anything you’re looking for will be out there.
How much does a live chat cost?
There are plenty of live chat options, whether that’s a video chat app, webcam chat accessible via laptop or computer, or live chat options that allow you to chat or type only that are completely free. Tons of random chat sites and video chatting apps or webcam chat sites are out there. That said, some sites cost money. Typically, a video chat app, chat or type app, or video chat alternative accessible via your computer will only cost a couple of dollars. Alternatively, sometimes, a video chat app, webcam chat accessible via laptop or computer, or a live chat option that lets you chat or type will offer premium versions that require you to pay a fee.
Where can I chat online?
Omegle is one very well-known site that allows you to chat with random people. The slogan for their site is, in fact, “talk to strangers!” If you’re looking for a chat alternative to random chat sites, video chatting with strangers, a video chat app, or webcam chat, try online forums. Especially if you’re looking for less spam and more serious dialogue or looking for a video chat alternative that’s less fast-paced, this is an excellent option. Video chatting or webcam chat with a chat partner doesn’t allow anonymity, where forums generally do. Text-based apps and video chat alternatives like anonymous chat rooms may also serve as a good video chat alternative or alternative to video chatting.
Do chat rooms still exist in 2021?
Yes. In addition to all of the webcam chat opportunities, video chat app options, and other ways to chat with random people online, chat rooms are alive and well in 2021. While searching for terms like “random chat,” “video chatting with strangers,” “talk to strangers,” “video chat alternative,” “chat with random people chat rooms,” and so on used to be something that people kept on the down-low, it’s now considered quite normal. Chat rooms are only one way to chat with random people, chat with strangers, engage in random chat, chat with strangers anonymously, or start video chatting with strangers in 2021. Tons of creative, specialized apps can be used to chat with random people, whether video chatting with strangers or using an app that lets you chat with strangers or chat with random people via text. An anonymous chat room is a great substitute for video chatting with strangers if you don’t want to reveal who you are, so if you’re looking for a video chat alternative, random chat through an anonymous chat room is something to consider. To find a video chat alternative or an alternative to video chatting with strangers that don’t require you to show your face, search for “chat with strangers anonymously,” “anonymous random chat,” “video chat alternative,” or simply, “anonymous chat room.” If the video chat alternative you’re using to chat with strangers or engage in random chat doubles as a place for video chatting with strangers, make sure to check your settings and turn your webcam off. Additionally, do not let anyone push your boundaries when you chat with strangers. Video chatting with strangers can be uncomfortable and risky in some cases, so stick with what you’re comfortable with.
What dating sites can you message for free?
Dating websites and apps like OkCupid, harmony, Tinder, Plenty Of Fish, Zoe, Silver Singles, and HER allow you to message free. However, most dating sites and apps offer premium versions with additional features that you can pay for. Whether you’re dating or simply looking to chat with random people, remember to use online safety measures when engaging in random chat, looking to chat with strangers, looking to talk to strangers through video chatting, or using dating apps. Some dating apps now offer options for verifying your account, which can help you verify who they say they are. Even then, when you’re video chatting with strangers, chat with strangers on a dating app, or talk to strangers online in general, there are risks. Stay safe!
