Next??. ?Next. Next. Whoa! NEXT! Next. Hey now! Next. Next. Next…  If you have been clicking on “next” a lot lately, perhaps it is because you have been one of the millions of Internet users checking out the latest on-line fetish fad, Chatroulette.  If you live in a cave and haven’t yet heard of Chatroulette Jon Stewart gives a nice introduction here.  In essence, as the name quite literally states, Chatroulette is an anonymous video chat randomizer, allowing anyone with a webcam and Internet connection to essentially go speed dating through the motley morass that is humanity (at least the part of humanity that in 2010 feels compelled to test their inner voyeur, inner exhibitionist, or both!)  As with any new technology Chatroulette attracts pornography like a giant science lab magnet attracts iron dust, so be forewarned (and warn your Internet browsing children), Chatroulette is most definitely NSFW (not safe for work, or a home with kids for that matter).  Which is why we need, Dadroulette!

Dadroulette: Spinning Through Your Kids’ Lives?

Consider this post as an open request to the slick young Russian dude who created ChatRoulette to re-purpose his code for a good cause and please create Dadroulette.  Dadroulette would let us dads log on and “next” our way through the webcams of only our children, wherever they may be.  Sequestered in their bedrooms, in the computer lab at school, or at a friend’s house, wherever our kids are, Dadroulette would let us click through and be right there with them to check in and say hello.  I mean, if schools in Pennsylvania can do it, why can’t Dads everywhere?  Think how happy our kids will be to know that dear old dad loves them so much he wants to randomly pop up in their webcam while they are in their bedrooms and dorm rooms. Think how happy us dads will be to toss out any semblance of trust and responsibility and poke our pointy parental noses into the private lives of our progeny?  Awesome, right?  NOT!

Good Gimmick, Bad Idea

I hacked into the Chatroulette code and did a little test of my Dadroulette concept.  As the screengrab in this post documents, I came across my son in his apartment at college and my oh my, I found him hanging out with his roommates and one of them had, oh my gosh, A BEER!  I wanted to say hello and give him a fatherly lecture about responsible drinking but before I could finish unwrinkling my furrowed brow he went ahead and clicked “next”, sending me off to my daughter’s webcam, where I was equally shocked to find her doing her homework.  She looked up, gave me an exasperated, “Daaaad!” and “nexted” me off to chat oblivion.

The Real Roulette

Clearly, my satirical game of Dadroulette would in practice be a very bad idea.  However, I hope it helps illustrate a bigger point that we have written about before.  The Internet IS a game of Russian Roulette, especially for our kids.  At any given moment an on-line session can turn sour, exposing us to bad viruses and bad people.  Our digital trails do indeed go on our “permanent record” and can become a bullet in the chamber, shooting us in the foot when discovered by friends, family or employers.  From Chatroulette to Facebook, we can’t stress enough to our kids how important it is to be careful, cautious and to use common sense when hanging out in our digital world.  Chatroulette may be another good excuse to have that conversation with your kids again.

In the end, Chatroulette can be at once fun, funny, daring, disgusting, deplorable and delightful.  Just like the Internet.  Next!

What do you think??? Let’s chat about it in the comments…

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.