Voyeurism Goes Mainstream?

TheNew York Timesdescribes it as the latest online phenomenon...a social website that your patients may be using. Created only a few months ago, Chatroulette (appropriately named because it’s like a game of social roulette), allows you to “meet” and chat-via a webcam-with a succession of strangers who are also logged on to the site from all over the world. You get to see them-- and they get to see you. Nick Bilton of the Times likens Chatroulette to “speed dating with thousands of strangers-some clothed, some not.” Because no registration is required to use www.chatroulette.com, users can surf incognito.

For more on the interface between psychiatry and social networking:

Maintaining Professional Boundaries in a Facebook World (Podcast)

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/podcasts/content/article/10168/1552718

Twitter and YouTube: Unexpected Consequenes of the Self-Esteem Movement

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1467756?pageNumber=1

E-Psychiatry: Using Web-Based Communications to Connect With Patients

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/careers/content/article/10168/1519675