Do Smartphones Stunt Social Skills?
Are smartphones teaching kids to scroll instead of connect? Here’s how parents can raise confident, connected children in the digital age.
December 12, 2024
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Warning: Reader Discretion Advised
The following content may contain sexual and child abuse material references. We believe it is important for parents to be aware of children’s potential exposure on social media that normalize these societal ills. Only by being educated can parents make informed decisions and successfully navigate tough conversations with their kids.
As a child, my parents warned me of the potential dangers of talking to people I didn’t know. “Stranger danger” has evolved to risks of children being cyberbullied, sexually blackmailed, and kidnapped by people they meet online through online chat rooms, social media, and even video game headsets.
So imagine my alarm when I learned about the Omegle app, whose tagline is “Talk to Strangers!” Omegle platform promotes the very thing parents have been warning about for decades — talking to strangers.
What is Omegle?
Omegle is a free online chat platform that randomly pairs users to strangers for private one-on-one communication. Omegle had an app in addition to being accessible on any device through an internet browser. No login was required.
The platform offered both text and video chat with strangers, making it more enticing (and more dangerous) for younger users.
Created in 2009, it experienced a surge in popularity in 2020 with numerous social media influencers posting about it. By November 2023, the hashtag #Omegle on TikTok had over 11 billion views.
This wasn’t the first app of its kind — YikYak, Open, and Secret are all apps that failed to create a safe anonymous space in the past. Secret and YikYak both closed their doors (with YikYak being re-released in 2021) and Omegle shut down in late 2023.
Why did Omegle Shut Down?
Omegle long struggled to fix its reputation as a platform that was unable to prevent child sexual abuse. It was finally shut down in November 2023 as the result of a lawsuit accusing the app of matching an 11-year-old girl with a man who later sexually abused her.
Since officially shutting down, new “Omegle” sites/apps have popped up. Both Omegleweb.com and Omegle.fm use Omegle’s logo and colors and present themselves as alternatives to the original Omegle. Omegle.fm, for example, describes itself as “the ultimate destination for those who miss the original Omegle experience.”
Omegleweb.com is a website (not an app) and Omegle.fm is both a website and an app downloadable on smartphones. It is unclear who owns or operates these platforms but they pose all the same dangers that led to Omegle shutting down. None are safe for kids.
Below we outline all the risks presented by Omegle that parents should be aware of.
Is Omegle Safe for Kids?
No, Omegle is for adults the age of 18 or older and is not safe for kids or teens. Unfortunately, there are no proper age verification methods in place and no parental controls, making it easily accessible for children and teens to join.
Explicit and Child Abuse Content
Omegle interactions are not monitored, which means underage users can easily come across inappropriate content intended for adult users.
It seems to be such an issue that Omegle has a statement on their homepage that reads, “Leave Omegle and visit an adult site instead if that’s what you’re looking for, and you are 18 or older.” This includes a link to an adult site.
Omegle claims their text chats (but not video) are monitored, however, an investigation by the BBC found a disturbing number of users engaging in sexual acts and self-generated child abuse material.
We have found self-generated abuse material elsewhere on the internet which has been created by predators who have captured and distributed footage from Omegle.
—Chris Hughes, Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Hotline Director
Predators
Predators can pose as minors on Omegle and coerce their targets into sharing sensitive or personal information, grooming them to engage in inappropriate acts, and/or sexually blackmailing them.
“My daughter had seen some videos go viral on TikTok about people being on this Omegle, so she explored this site and there’s no log-in or age restrictions or anything.
“These people were saying she was beautiful, hot, sexy. She told them she was only eight years old and they were OK with that. She witnessed a man masturbating and another man wanted to play truth or dare with her.
“He was asking her to shake her bum, take off her top and trousers, which she thankfully did not do.”
—Mother of an 8-year-old daughter, reporting to the BBC
With teens dying by suicide after falling victim to sextortion scams, parents can become aware of sextortion risks online and learn how to protect their kids from online predators.
Cyberbullying
The anonymity provided by Omegle can unfortunately serve as a platform for cyberbullying. Users can be subjected to offensive language, negative comments, or even threats.
Studies have shown that when people are anonymous online, they are more likely to engage in cyberbullying behavior.
“A 2016 study led by Christopher Bartlett of Gettysburg College…found that over the course of an academic year, people who felt that their identity was concealed online were more likely to report engaging in cyberbullying behavior and holding positive attitudes toward cyberbullying (e.g. ‘It’s okay if someone deserves it.’).”
Because conversations are not well moderated on Omegle and a person’s identity is not properly verified, there is little recourse for dealing with such behavior.
Protecting Kids from Omegle
As parents, it’s essential to be aware of the risks associated with Omegle to keep children safe. It’s also crucial to regularly have open communication with our children about the dangers of talking to strangers online.
For example, you might explain to your children the dangers of pornography on a growing brain. Or you might focus a conversation on how they have the right to say no and can leave any conversation that makes them uncomfortable or pressured into doing inappropriate things.
Encourage your kids to come to you for help if they encounter anything that makes them feel uncomfortable online. Ensure they will not get in trouble, and that you will always love them.
Like any skill, kids do not learn to use technology responsibly overnight. Caregivers can help children grow into responsible digital citizens over time with careful consideration of what devices and parental controls are appropriate for each stage of a child’s development.
You may consider Gabb’s Tech in Steps approach, which helps parents by offering solutions that grow with your child. All of Gabb’s kid-safe phones were designed with safety as the top priority but each allows varying levels of tech flexibility so you can pick the right fit for your kid.
How do you teach your children about online stranger danger? Let us know in the comments.
Author Abby Alger
Abby is a Content Strategist at Gabb. She holds a Masters in Education, is a former educator, and the parent of three kids, including one with learning differences. She hopes to empower caregivers and kids to stay safe and thrive in our online world.
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