This article was contributed by Jenny Wallace who works as a Content Manager at CooMeet.
Let’s start with an interesting fact: according to Forbes, representatives of the Zoomer generation spend an entire day per week watching video on average. That is, more than 3.5 hours a day! This is a lot. And it’s likely that this figure will gradually increase.
Today, video content is becoming the backbone of the internet. Instead of studying a large list of product characteristics, many people prefer to watch a video review. Instead of a long text conversation, they will choose a video call. And instead of reading a news article, they will watch a short video summary of the news. It’s no wonder that video plays a key role in the online dating segment today!
How online dating has taken a new level thanks to video chat
In the nineties and early 2000s, when the internet was far from being accessible or fast, there was no question of transferring online communication into a video format. High-speed mobile networks did not yet exist. Wifi was rare. And even wired internet could not always provide a fast and stable enough connection for video communication. But progress did not stand still.
Many people call 2009 the turning point, when the first ever video chat roulette sites appeared — Omegle and Chatroulette. Firstly, they offered users a completely unusual way to meet new people on the Web. And secondly, they were very undemanding on the speed of your Internet connection. Omegle gave participants the opportunity to chat with random users around the world, search by country and even by interests.
Yes, the Omegle website wasn’t perfect, and it isn’t perfect now. But it created a real revolution in the world of Internet dating. And the emergence of Omegle alternatives was not long in coming. Right now you can use random video chats for every taste:
- CooMeet — a great alternative to Omegle, the main advantage of which is an unbeatable gender filter. Let’s remember that there is simply no such filter in Omegle, or mobile applications either. But CooMeet has handy iOS and Android apps that let you meet and connect with new people anywhere, anytime. And the built-in message translator erases any language barriers. Learn more about Omegle alternative.
- OmeTV — a minimalist Omegle alternative with geographic and gender filters. The gender filter does not work as accurately as in CooMeet, but its very presence is a plus. OmeTV also has a good text message translator, which will also be useful for comfortable communication with foreign speakers.
- Chatspin — a simple Omegle alternative with a gender filter. In this case, you can choose not only the options “I am a man” or “I am a woman”, but also “We are a couple” or “I am LGBTQ+”. This in turn expands the possibilities of finding interesting people quite well. Plus Chatspin has AR masks that hide your face for more anonymity and privacy.
- Chathub — another popular video chat with language and gender filters. The only significant disadvantage is the lack of a mobile application. But the web version of Chathub is very well adapted for mobile browsers, so you’ll most likely not experience any real inconvenience when using it.
- Bazoocam — a classic video chat with no frills. There is no usual gender filter, but there are online mini-games that help diversify communication with strangers. Bazoocam also offers its own 18+ video streaming platform if you like this format.
Every modern Omegle alternative strives to offer its users unique and unusual features. And many actually do. Therefore, today you won’t have any difficulties finding a platform for video communication.
Popular dating apps that have already implemented a video chat feature
Of course, classic dating apps also did not stand aside and began to actively implement video chats. Today, a video calling function is available in almost all popular dating applications:
- Badoo — a dating app that allows you to make audio and video calls, among other things. If we discard all the “classic” functions of a dating application, Badoo can be compared to a messenger in a sense. The only difference is that you can communicate only with those people with whom you have a mutual match.
- Bumble — another popular app with a video chat feature that appeared relatively recently, about two years ago. The main feature of Bumble is that only girls can initiate dating here. Otherwise, this is a classic dating app with typical functionality.
- Eharmony — a dating app in which, according to the developers, more than two million people have already found love. The service attracts attention with its matching algorithms and, of course, a convenient video communication format. You can organize video dates right there in the application and communicate in a way that is convenient for you.
- Happn — an interesting video chat dating app with one curious feature — you can chat with a person via video for no more than one hour. In this way, Happn’s developers are pushing users to move on to real communication as soon as possible and not “stay up” online.
- Tinder — one of the most popular applications in the world, where video calls have also appeared relatively recently — in 2020. Like most other dating services, you can only video chat on Tinder if both people agree.
- PlentyOfFish — a dating app that also implemented a video chat feature in 2020. As you might guess, a strong impetus for this was the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and the mass self-isolation of people around the world.
- Hinge — a dating app with voice and video chat. To be able to communicate via video, two users must exchange messages. Only after that do the audio and video call buttons become active and it becomes possible to arrange a video date.
In fact, there are now fewer and fewer dating apps that do not have video chat at all. The developers are well aware that this format is the future of all communication on the web. So if your favorite app still doesn’t have a video calling feature, it’s probably coming soon. You just need to wait a little. Or find an alternative.
Video chat is our future
Finally, we’d like to note that not all modern people prefer the video communication format. Some people feel insecure while talking to a stranger via video. Some fear that the conversation will be overheard. While for some, it’s just more convenient to text chat, having more time to think about their next remark. That’s perfectly normal!
Let’s be objective though. Sooner or later, the vast majority will come over to the video communication format. Therefore, we advise you to try it now. Any alternative to Omegle will do for learning the ropes. We don’t doubt that you’ll like this format!
About the author
Jenny Wallace is a Content Manager at CooMeet.
Last Updated on August 7, 2023 4:50 pm CEST by Markus Kasanmascheff
