Stranger Chat Vs. Professional Online Counselor

Online chat sites have been on a steady increase around the whole world since social media chat has become globally popular and mobile friendly. An anonymous chat with strangers, or stranger chat, through registration to online chat rooms, is commonplace now, whether it's a free chat room with strangers on a public Facebook page, on Instagram, or on Omegle, Omegle alternatives, or Snapchat. 

With the ability to obtain free registration with chat rooms and reach out to new people and chat anonymously, it has become even easier to chat and make new friends with strangers or to talk to old friends. Chat rooms can provide a great opportunity to make new friends by connecting over a text chat or voice chat conversation. These chat rooms can also be great for a lot of friends to chat or hop on a random video chat.

The free registration for a text chat service can provide a way for random strangers to meet and talk about mental health. The ease of having a text chat or video call with strangers online can be a good thing, but a chat with strangers can also be dangerous. Below, we’ll explore some of the advantages of online chatrooms as well as the benefits of online therapy platforms.

Stranger Chat Statistics

Free registration to join a popular random chat site, random chat room, text chat apps, and unfiltered private chat rooms can make chatting up a stranger instantaneous.

There are other free sites where you can talk to strangers, like Facebook and its text chat service Messenger, which boasts 1.15 billion daily active users, many of whom chat with strangers, fellow page surfers, or new friends of friends. In some cases, a chat website may offer one-on-one chat where users chat completely anonymously with one other person. One-on-one chat may or may not have a moderator or chat head, so it is important to be cautious when chatting with someone one-on-one.

Free registration to join these online chat rooms where friends can talk and have a video or text chat conversation is fun, and encourages children and adults alike to make new friends and to meet strangers who can become new friends. On the other hand, registration for some of the completely text chat sites where a random stranger from anywhere in the whole world can talk to random people is sometimes problematic. Random strangers or bots from a different country in another part of the world are not to be immediately trusted and may not follow chat rules over text chat messages or even video calls, especially ones with free registration.

Children May Be At A Higher Risk

When it comes to public chat rooms, children are often susceptible to being manipulated by random strangers online on a free chat site, especially in a private chat room. Some of these unknown people talk to young children in text chat conversations and act like they are new friends to get credit card registration info out of them.

It is important for parents to monitor their children’s internet usage, registration for free text chat services with strangers, and possibly their text chat messages. Parents can help children learn to be aware of what strangers they are talking to online when they choose to talk to random people. By monitoring children’s internet usage, parents may identify any bots posing as real people in a text chat conversation online. Bots can mine online chat rooms looking to steal login information or credit card registration info.

Adults Are Also At Risk

Adults also need to be careful about the new friends they make from chatting with strangers online. When you talk to strangers through online chat rooms or video chat, you might keep in mind that even well-meaning strangers could end up causing more harm than good when providing life advice. Remember upon registration for an online chat room that new friends and random strangers are still real people who can make mistakes or take advantage of others through public chat rooms. 

You might chat with strangers at your discretion; new friends can be great, but you might want to be cautious about talking to strangers about your problems, especially if they are related to serious mental health concerns. If you are feeling depressed or suicidal*, registration to a text chat room to talk to random strangers can present significant risk.

*“If you or a loved one is experiencing suicidal thoughts, reach out for help immediately. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached at 988 and is available 24/7.” 

Some strangers online take on a false persona because with chat room registration, it’s easy for strangers to stay hidden. Some people may have nefarious purposes, while others may give unsolicited when they don’t have expertise to do so.

Random strangers you meet through public chat rooms, even if they become new friends, are likely not trained in psychology or medicine and therefore are not qualified by their state to give any advice related to mental health care. Unfortunately, we can all get caught up in giving or taking free advice to friends or even random strangers over a free text chat service or even in real life.

This often extends to far more than giving advice about how to get over a cold. Instead, people are giving and taking advice from a chat with strangers about depression, suicide, relationship troubles, and a whole lot more. Well-meaning strangers may give less-than-ideal advice in chat rooms, and less well-meaning strangers may be giving downright dangerous advice or even bullying individuals on these free chat sites. 

Online Therapy

If you have serious concerns about your mental health, substance abuse, relationships, or other problems, seeking online therapy may be a better option than an online chat with strangers. Statistically, online counseling has been proven to help with a number of mental health concerns. Research shows that online therapy is just as effective as in-person therapy, and you can talk to an online therapist via phone, videoconferencing, or in-app messaging. With online therapy, you can ensure you’re speaking to a licensed therapist instead of a random stranger who may not have any qualifications to provide life advice.

With online therapy platforms like BetterHelp, you can be sure that the therapist you’re matched with has been vetted for licensure and advanced training in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.  

Questions To Consider Before Signing Up For An Online Chatroom

If for some reason you cannot speak with a therapist at this time and decide to talk to people online, you might consider the following questions when registering for online text chat sites:

• Are they qualified to give advice about my concern?

Do they have licensing and certifications, and do they have the background and experience necessary to truly understand what you’re experiencing and what can help?

• Have they been trained and licensed by their state to address mental health concerns?

They need accurate and verifiable records of their licensing and the additional training that they’ve completed. They should be able to provide them to you on demand. 

• Do they have good reviews and a positive reputation online?

Have they worked with others who have similar situations, and have they received positive feedback? you might look for feedback that’s been posted about them, especially on chat sites or chat forums that they don’t control. That’s where you may find the best information.

If you find a chat site, you might consider taking certain precautions. While you may find people experiencing similar concerns who seem empathetic, you might want to avoid giving information, such as your full name, address, phone number, and financial information. The latter may seem obvious, but there are scams set up by people who claim to have your best interest at heart. If someone on a chat forum offers further services in exchange for payment, you might err on the side of caution and log off or speak with someone else. 

If you can at this time, you might try online therapy instead. With BetterHelp, you can sign up for a subscription service and have a weekly session with a trained, licensed, vetted therapist. Also, BetterHelp can sometimes offer financial assistance to those who qualify, and all you need is a phone, tablet, or computer to get started with your sessions.