a checkered history
After 14 Controversial Years, Omegle Is Dead. Here's How The Internet Is Reacting
On November 8, it was announced that Omegle, the video chat site that paired you with strangers across the globe, had shut down. If you visit the website now, you're met with a picture of a gravestone reading "Omegle: 2009 - 2023," and a surprisingly lengthy goodbye note from its creator, Leif K-Brooks.
People used Omegle to "explore foreign cultures; to get advice about their lives from impartial third parties; and to help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation," K-Brooks writes. "I've even heard stories of soulmates meeting on Omegle, and getting married."
"Unfortunately, there are also lowlights," he adds, acknowledging that the site also became a platform for "unspeakably heinous crimes." These include, among many other controversies, a girl being sexually exploited by a man she met on Omegle and teenagers being subjected to racist abuse. In the face of hefty criticism about the moderation of Omegle, and the expenses of running it, K-Brooks says, "operating Omegle is no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically."
While for many, including myself, Omegle is chiefly remembered as the place they saw far too many unsolicited genitals at far too young an age, others are sincerely mourning the loss of a website that connected them with people they would never have met otherwise. K-Brooks ends his goodbye to users by saying, "I worry that, unless the tide turns soon, the internet I fell in love with may cease to exist" — and with many others fearing the same, it's somewhat understandable that reactions to the death of even a website as controversial as Omegle are mixed.
End of an era
— rockRockedRock (@rocked_rock) November 9, 2023
Holy shit the Omegle shut down message is one of the most intense pieces of writing about the internet I’ve ever encountered. A lot going on here. https://t.co/8zDz7o0OMi
— Katie Notopoulos (@katienotopoulos) November 9, 2023
Finally the kids are safe from online pedos pic.twitter.com/IkwSWVHjkv
— ex (@c4exode) November 9, 2023
Omegle is shutting down. End of an era :(
— Holly ⏸️ Elmore (@ilex_ulmus) November 9, 2023
I always had high ideals about this kind of open communication and connection on the internet, but it, too, is dual-use. I think the founder made the right call (for his own health, if nothing else) but it’s still sad. pic.twitter.com/6VHULuTRXT
A lot of influencers just went jobless 💀
— Aero (@Aero1164) November 9, 2023
so many random memories as a kid on this. but its probably gone for the better. alot of these sites are really bad nowadays.
— iqkev (@iqkev) November 9, 2023
So many channels produced so much fantastic content thanks to Omegle, sad. https://t.co/43uySpfH52
— Mr Melancholy (@chakravartiin) November 9, 2023
this is like 9/11 for pedophiles https://t.co/VSxtGHFMkk
— Hurt CoPain (@SaeedDiCaprio) November 9, 2023
In honour of Omegle being deleted- I want to bring back this iconic moment pic.twitter.com/uiWrcXuiQ4
— Hoeja Cat 🟥⭐️ (@T_llulah) November 9, 2023
Non bts video, but it's so funny: Please, one of my friends' reaction to omegle getting shut down pic.twitter.com/qmsGesJCpm
— ARMYS STUDY TWT HOURLY⁷ (@armybtstudy_twt) November 9, 2023
A sad day. Memories are flooding. This website was a blessing and a curse. Many people will never understand what this site was about. That’s what made it so special. We won’t ever have something even close to this for generations to come. Farewell. pic.twitter.com/YtJoQJDCrv
— Macaiyla (@macaiyla) November 9, 2023
kids these days will never know what A/S/L means https://t.co/sYpuh1RqFB
— The Notorious J.O.V. (@whotfisjovana) November 9, 2023
[Image credit: Omegle]