5 Ways Webcam Chats Help Prepare You for Real-World Interactions

As technologies like the internet, personal computers, and smartphones have become pretty much universal, so has the blame for these same technologies causing all kinds of problems. Bad posture, poor eyesight, or disrupted sleep patterns can certainly result from their over-use, but what about the people who say that interpersonal relationships are suffering too? 

Well, that would depend on how you use the technology. If you’re ignoring your significant other because you can’t stop scrolling social media, that’s a pretty clear example of how it isn’t helping you. On the other hand, you could use a random chat site such as Camgo for more than just fun, casual conversations; it could actually improve your overall social skills. Best of all, it won’t take any special strategies – just a bit of patience. 

5 Ways Webcam Chats Improve Real-World Interactions

1. Starting the conversation

One of the biggest obstacles to a new conversation is simply getting it started. Most people can relate to the experience of wanting to approach someone, but never following through because they’re afraid that they won’t be able to pull it off. This essentially means that they have very little experience with conversations in general, much less starting one up themselves. 

Replicate the same experience on a random chat site, though, and you’re going through the same process with training wheels on. This is because, unlike the real world, random chat sites are full of people who actually want to be approached by strangers – that’s the entire point. Sure, not every conversation will turn out the way you wanted, but that’s to be expected. The main thing is that you have infinite chances to start over with new chat partners, so you can move on quickly if you feel like you’re crashing and burning. Once you’ve gotten the practice you needed online, you’ll have a much easier time doing the exact same thing in real life – and your confidence won’t take as much of a hit if you don’t succeed every time. 

2. Getting out of your own head

Even if you don’t have a narcissistic bone in your body, you may still need to get over yourself. Why? Because you may be getting so wrapped up in your own perceived shortcomings, you never give yourself the chance to discover your good qualities too. 

Plus, a lot of people struggle with anxiety, which makes them more likely to decide against trying out new experiences – such as talking to strangers. How can random video chatting make this less of a problem? Well, there are a lot of built-in safety nets on random chat sites that you just don’t get in real life. One of the best features is the “next” button, which will close your current chat and open up a new one with a single click. If you know that you have a guaranteed exit strategy every time you start a new conversation, you won’t have to worry quite so much about everything going well. Plus, if an interaction doesn’t go as you’d hoped and you decided to move on, nobody’s going to blame you for leaving abruptly. Not only is that accepted on random chat sites, but the chats are anonymous – they couldn’t pin it on you if they wanted to!

3. Realizing that everybody else is weird too

Speaking of getting out of your own head, random video chatting is a great way to realize that nobody is actually “normal”. There’s something about being on the internet that seems to remove social inhibitions (for better or for worse), so you won’t necessarily get the curated, socially acceptable versions of the people you’re chatting with. For some, random chat sites are actually one of the few venues where they can express themselves without backlash. Whether they’re an anime lover in a family of South Park fans, or they take their passion for Star Trek to a whole new level, random video chatters can generally find like-minded chat partners online, even if they can’t in their day-to-day lives. 

Even if you aren’t into anime or Star Trek, you may still have a few hobbies or personality traits that just don’t seem to fit in. If you’re on a video chat site, though, that might not matter as much. And once you can stop feeling shy about your supposed shortcomings, you’ll find it easier to relax around whoever you’re talking to, online or not. 

4. Letting your personality shine

Have you ever met someone who explains their shyness with “I don’t get out much”? Contrast that with the people who have a larger-than-life personality, and who never seem to have trouble striking up a conversation. While the mere act of putting yourself out there won’t necessarily turn you into a charismatic people-person, it does give you the chance to find out who you really are when you aren’t spending time in your own head. 

Random video chatting plays a part by letting you experiment and find your own strengths. It would be really awkward to change so frequently in front of people who already know you, but your chat partners won’t be able to tell the difference. By the time you’ve started figuring yourself out thanks to random chatting, the change may already be happening organically in real life. 

5. Practicing a second language with a real person

Not everyone will learn a different language, and even fewer people will need to use it in a real-world context – but if you do, random video chats are a great way to get some practice in with native speakers. Since they’re already there to talk, they’re more likely to be patient with you as you figure out the right conjugation or look up the noun you need. You can smooth out your linguistic rough patches in the video chats, and be ready for real-life applications whenever they come up. 

These are just a few examples. If you try random video chatting for yourself, you could discover even more benefits that carry over into the real world!