Omegle offers the following description of the site on its homepage, “Omegle (oh·meg·ull) is a great way to meet new friends. When you use Omegle, we pick someone else at random and let you talk one on one. To help you stay safe, chats are anonymous unless you tell someone who you are (not suggested!), and you can stop a chat at any time. Predators have been known to use Omegle, so please be careful.”

In spite of the chilling last sentence, back when I was 13, Omegle was a very popular activity to do with a group of friends. Looking back on when I was 13, I remembered the fun I had on this website, so I decided to be a 13-year-old for a night and see what I would find. I had no clue what was coming for me.

Before I started my night I wanted to get an idea of the demographic I would be dealing with. I surveyed a sample of 100 people and found that the average age was 18.7 with little variance. This shows that this website is mostly used by young adults.

I then went on to the video chat and realized what I had stepped into, the very first “stranger” I talked to was masturbating on camera. I decided that I would dress myself up like how I looked when I was 13 and see how many adults over the age of 18 would talk to me. It was more than I was expecting.

I put on a sports bra to try and look like I had a smaller chest, took off all my makeup and put stuffed animals on my bed in aims of looking younger. Out of the 10 people I could identify as over 18, seven were willing to talk with a 13-year-old. Even though talking isn’t a crime, you would think that adults would be more wary about talking to children online.

Out of the seven adults who pursued a conversation with my presumably 13-year-old self, three of those conversations were sexual in nature or showed attraction toward me in spite of my age. At the bottom of this article, I included these three conversations.

Durig the night I was put into a total of 20 conversations, but could only identify the age of 12 “strangers.” Ten were over 18, and two were under the age of 18. This leaves eight that I could not get the age of. These eight were people who masturbated on camera without knowing the age of who may be viewing it. This would mean that out of 20 conversations I was put into, more than half would have put a 13-year-old into a sexually uncomfortable situation.

The bottom of Omegle's homepage states, “By using the Omegle website, and/or related products and/or services ("Omegle", provided by Omegle.com LLC), you agree to the following terms: Do not use Omegle if you are under 13. If you are under 18, use it only with a parent/guardian's permission. Do not transmit nudity, sexually harass anyone, publicize other people's private information, make statements that defame or libel anyone, violate intellectual property rights, use automated programs to start chats, or behave in any other inappropriate or illegal way on Omegle.” Omegle seems to put forward a lot of rules it has no way of upholding. It then goes on to tell users to use at your own risk.

With all of this being said, one might wonder why a 13-year-old would even want to be on such a website. I think it all comes down to one word: insecurity. At 13, your body is changing so quickly, and next thing you know you are a child stuck inside of a woman's body. To make matters worse, you think you know everything, and therefore, you are untouchable on such a website. You meet men who can appreciate a woman's body and who talk you up like you have actually lived life like a woman. While 13-year-old boys may notice your body changing, they don’t have the same approach that an adult would have. You are drawn to how cunning older men can be, and in your mind because you are talking to older men you are in some way more woman. Adults use words like sexy and beautiful. It's just nice to hear a compliment from someone who isn’t your family, during a time where you likely feel anything but.

If there is anything to take away from this article, let it be this: Do not forget what it feels like to be 13. Do not let your child go through it alone. Do not belittle their problems just because they don’t have adult problems. What they are dealing with is a lot to go through for where they are in their life. Try to be active in their life as much as they might push you away during this time period. Your child will likely do something akin to this, and there is no way you can prevent it in terms of setting parental locks. If they want to do something they will find a way to do it, so try to bolster your child’s confidence enough before the fact and be proactive.

Sabrina Rotenberg

The following are conversations I had on Omegle:

Conversation 1:

You: hey!

Stranger: hi

You: how are ya?!?

Stranger: I'm good, u?

You: great! How old are you?!

Stranger: 37

You: oh, im 13...

Stranger: no way

You: I hope that's okay...

You: yep

Stranger: u look older

You: I get that all the time lol

Stranger: more like 18

You: That's pretty awesome, to be honest

Stranger: what u doing on here

You: Meeting people, I don't know I got bored

Stranger: u like, um, old guys?

You: LOL you're not old if that's what you're getting at?

Stranger: yeah kinda

You have disconnected.

Conversation 2:

You: Hey!

Stranger: hi, nice woman you are very sexy.

pls little see my horny dick?

Stranger: pls wait

Stranger: pls see

Stranger: you are so so so sexy

You: Im 13

Stranger: pls little see

Stranger: omg

Stranger: you are so young and so sexy

You have disconnected.

Conversation 3:

Stranger: hey

You: Hey!

Stranger: Whats up

You: Not much, how old are you

Stranger: 22 you?

You: 13

Stranger: Really?

You: Yep… Im sorry

Stranger: No! Don’t be sorry!

You: Does it bother you?

Stranger: Not at all, you’re beautiful!