What are the Benefits of Online Chatting?

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You can benefit from online chatting in numerous ways. You can boost your confidence, find folks with similar interest or stay in touch with far away friends. Both adults and children can reap the many benefits of online chatting as long as they also know how to stay safe. Rather than ban children outright from chatting, which is becoming increasingly difficult in an online world, parents can help their children develop good online judgment by coaching them in potentially unsafe chatting scenarios and helping them know how to react appropriately.

1 Confidence and Self-Esteem

Online chatting can boost the confidence and self-esteem of individuals who have heartaches or feel lonely. Although it should only be seen as a band-aid solution, chatting and flirting with strangers can give people a boost of confidence when it is most needed. Even a stranger can put a smile on someone’s face. Online dating is becoming increasingly common, as some people are too busy to go out and meet someone.

2 Meet People with Similar Interests

There are hundreds of social networking sites that allow users to chat about specific things, such as hobbies or interests. This could include sports forums, collection forums or do it yourself forums. This type of online chatting can lead to new information, techniques, perspectives and knowledge on a given topic of interest. These types of chatting forums are also used as learning tools, where people can get advice or strategies from different people all around the world.

3 Quick Exits

If someone feels uncomfortable chatting with a stranger, it is easy to leave. Compared to a bar, where escaping someone annoying can be rather difficult, leaving an online chat often just requires one click. This feature should be used by anyone who feels threatened, used or uncomfortable, when chatting with strangers.

4 Stay in Touch - Internationally

Online chatting can be a great tool to stay in contact with friends or family who may live far away or overseas. While calling each other and talking for hours can be a rather costly expense, online chatting is free. People can chat for hours without worrying about the expenses a phone bill would bring. Online chatting can create, re-create or maintain relationships, despite being oceans apart.

5 Meet New People – Anonymously

One benefit of online chatting is the ability to meet new people in an online environment, such as chatting forums, while in the comforts of one’s home. While some people enjoy going out and meeting new people, others prefer to stay home and remain anonymous while talking with strangers. Online chatting gives people the opportunity to talk to strangers without sharing personal information, appearance or location.

Based in Toronto, Mary Jane has been writing for online magazines and databases since 2002. Her articles have appeared on the Simon & Schuster website and she received an editor's choice award in 2009. She holds a Master of Arts in psychology of language use from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

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