Calling all parents!  The challenge of parenting in a cyber world just became a little more difficult.  If you haven't heard of Chat Roulette, then let this be a lesson.  It is an online experience without restraint, monitoring, social propriety or decency.

Participants log in and are randomly paired with someone by webcam from somewhere else in the globe ... often doing or asking for lewd and bizarre things.  For the same reasons that you would never toss your child into the lion's pen at the zoo (or, for that matter, the pedophile ward at the local penitentiary) you should not allow any minor you care about to be involved.  For that matter, no Jesus loving, serious minded disciple has any business on the site either.  Click here to read more about it.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.   Philippians 4:8

Much of what is done on these webcams is, apparently (I have read about it but deliberately not participated myself), illicit and often would be illegal and prosecutable if it happened in your neighborhood ... instead, it goes both uncensored and unreported..

The appeal of this voyeuristic and exhibitionist experience is that it caters to the curious, banal and self absorbed side of us all. Once logged on, the rotating cast of possible "chat" partners suddenly appear on screen feeding the desire to be shocked and scintillated.  To call it a social networking site is misleading.  Some apparently do meet and converse with others from around the world ... but it is not until after they have exposed themselves to (pardon the pun) to all sorts of perverted behavior.

MY RECOMMENDATION: Stay away and take precautions to protect your children. There is no redeeming value to Chatroulette that makes it worth what it welcomes into your life, heart and home.