“Do not talk to strangers” is a phrase children and teens have likely been told their entire lives. Omegle is a site where users completely ignore that lesson. It is an entertaining experience for teen users- but also an attractive one for online predators. 

Omegle’s slogan is, “Talk to Strangers.” It is a site where you are matched with a complete stranger, and both participants’ cameras and microphones are on. The user can talk to the stranger; there is also a button to skip, and when it is pressed the user will be matched with another stranger. 

This website has become increasingly popular, especially among teens, and even preteens. According to the statistics service Alexa, now the website is in the 3,100 position among all websites in the world,” says Tech Times. 

Although Omegle was created in 2009, more and more users have been active recently, especially with the presence of Tik Tok. Many Tik Tok users film their Omegle interactions and post those videos on their Tik Tok page.

Since Omegle’s slogan is “Talk to Strangers,” one would think that there has to be some suspicious activity, especially since a large fraction of users are minors. 

In an experiment with Fox 4, a detective wanted to prove the point of how teens can be easily influenced by an online predator. The detective proceeds to ask the teen girl some personal questions. “After guessing her age, the detective proceeds with more questions, and the teen answers. Within seconds, she volunteers information about what state she lives in,” reported Fox 4. 

With Omegle, users are quickly volunteering personal information, making it an extremely attractive site for online predators. 

If Omegle has the potential to be such a dangerous site, why are minors and even kids using it? When someone first arrives on the Omegle website, it does not clearly state that the user must be 18 years or older or have parents consent. In addition, there is no way to actually check, and the website makes it extremely easy to talk to strangers with just the click of a button. 

In addition, nothing on Omegle is censored. Someone will likely come across a person with bad intentions and even someone who may be displaying inappropriate content. This, however, has not stopped the teen-targeted site from gaining popularity.

Especially during the pandemic, many people are yearning for some type of social interaction. In this case, it has attracted more users to interact and meet new people on Omegle. With the recent increase in popularity, the site proves to be more dangerous as more and more online predators interact. 

It is advised that parents and guardians are aware of the Omegle interactions taking place, and it is important that users also understand the potential dangers. It is encouraged to never give out your name, age, where you live, or other personal information. 

The internet can be a great place for entertainment and information, but websites like Omegle are ones that internet users should be cautious of.