ABSTRACT

With ease of access of internet connectivity and owing to ability of maintaining anonymity, online chatting has become very common. Based on an empirical study comprising of more than 700 chatting sessions spread over a period of 15 months with nearly 2500 online chatters, this paper aims to present a psychological study and analysis of the behavior of chatters in online chatting environments. It has been found that the chatting environments are dominated by male gender and explicit sexual expression is common. The paper also laments the ability of chatting environments to be exploited as breeding ground for cyber crimes by using ‘social engineering’. On the sidelines, the paper also lists the motivations driving the people to chat as well as the various rewards and drawbacks that chatting poses to the chatter in specific and society in general.

Keywords: - Chat Room, Chatting, Messenger, Pornography, Sex