Online chatting is a way by which people from around the world communicate with each other by writing messages through a keyboard which are seen instantly by all the people present in the chat room. It is a form of social activity and very famous amongst youngsters who find it as a way to meet and talk to their friends and make new relationships. To some people it can be very positive as those who feel discriminated in the real world and because they sometimes do not reveal themselves in online chatting so they can easily deal and cope up with other people.
The main issues which I feel come up with online chatting are that youngsters have a natural tendency to make friends easily and they often give their personal information like phone number, address (home and email) to people who meet them online specially when a child is using an internet from a place where he thinks it is safe to do so. Many schools have a strict policy and they block computer so that children to do go on to online chat rooms.
The sort of language used in chats is also an issue. Youngsters may be exposed to unsuitable thoughts and language. They may be exploited by people and asked to send picture of themselves which are not decent and some negative pictures may also be sent to them. Another main issue is that they may come into contact with people who may sexually exploit them in the real world and form some sort of a relationship with them which may lead to criminal activities.
The best possible advice which can be given to youngsters is that their parents should talk to them about their chatting experience, asking them what sort of talking they do and also tend to listen to them, hear their problems. Adults may tell their kids to use safe chat boxes but children may use other alternatives which may be unsafe. Blocking and filtering is the best option adults can use to block such online chats.
People tend to use different names in order to recognize them and many of the time they have some very bad names which attract unwanted interest. Users on chatting services are not always honest about who they are and what they do as there is no way one can find out. It is best that nicknames should be chosen which should not attract unwanted interest and tell which gender are you off.
People should understand the fact that giving out details and private things is not safe when engaging in online chatting. Think before passing on such information as house address and phone number. At time adults do also engage in online chatting and find numerous people which should not happen. If people have a bad experience while online chatting they should report it immediately so that the concern authorities may take some sort of an action against it.