A couple weeks ago, I walked into my room to find my roommate video-chatting with someone online. Because that in and of itself isn’t an uncommon or outstanding occurrence, I wasn’t initially too disturbed. But then, in a flash, my roommate was speaking to a new person. And in less than 30 seconds, yet another face appeared on the screen — and that’s when I knew something was amiss.

That was my introduction to Chat Roulette, a website that randomly links users to one another through web-cam conversations. From fellow college students to exhibitionists to young children, Internet lurkers of all types can be found on Chat Roulette — except, of course, attractive females, despite being the reason why 99.99 percent of users frequent the site.

The most notable aspect of Chat Roulette is that the interactions it provides are fleeting — the presence of a “next” button allows users to easily spin the wheel to connect to the next random stranger. But ultimately, that’s what makes Chat Roulette so addicting. Like spinning an actual roulette wheel, the chances you find someone with whom you wish to actually speak are incredibly small. But the opportunity for redemption — though admittedly a gamble — easily overrides any logic to the contrary.

Chat Roulette, though obviously a natural evolution from earlier Internet technologies, significantly deviates from the sort of systems developed in the past in this way. When instant messaging programs and video chat systems first came out, they acted as social tools. Even though most folks are in their own virtual world while communicating on Facebook, Google Chat or Skype, they are actually participating in an inherently social activity by conversing with friends.

But Chat Roulette is the paradoxically antisocial form of social interaction. Though I usually end up surfing Chat Roulette with at least my roommate and usually a few other friends, I commonly see folks on there alone — at all hours of the day. And while Facebook and Skype primarily serve as a method of staying in touch with friends or at least close acquaintances, Chat Roulette consists almost solely of random interactions between complete strangers. Additionally, the site lacks identifying screen names, conversations are brief if not non-existent and many of the participants in fact only display pictures or video clips on repeat.

If Chat Roulette turns out to be a short-lived fad, there probably is not any cause for concern. But if Chat Roulette maintains or grows in popularity — a strong possibility, considering that the site currently attracts about 500,000 viewers a day according to its web page, and the program is fairly easy to write or adapt — one must worry about the lessons people subconsciously take with them once they close out of the screen.

A “social” medium like Chat Roulette is dangerous in that it conditions us to develop unrealistic and poor expectations for real-life personal interactions. People have to deal with unwanted social confrontations on a day-to-day basis; we can’t simply “next” ourselves away as we are able to on Chat Roulette. As matter of pure escapism, Chat Roulette might merely provide an outlet to express that fantasy. But given the addictive nature of that power, it could be hard for folks to leave that “next”-ing mentality within the cyber world. (And this all goes without mentioning that some of the antics Chat Roulette users pull can’t be mentioned in a family newspaper and shouldn’t be performed in public, either.)

Technology has the power to change and transform societies, but it’s possible to note its negative effects without being a total Luddite, reflexively opposed to progress. The question of Chat Roulette then becomes an issue of whether or not our society can boast enough discipline and self-control to justify supporting such a website.

In last summer’s hit comedy, “The Hangover,” a bit character aptly noted, “Some guys just can’t handle Vegas.” Still, some do have that ability, and that’s why gambling and its accompanying shenanigans are still tolerated and regulated in some places, despite their potential to become a great negative influence in one’s life.

Likewise, some guys just can’t handle Chat Roulette. But regulating its use is not nearly straightforward as regulating the casino game from which it derives its name. Therefore, the responsibility to define and hew limits rests solely upon us as users — otherwise we’ll find ourselves unable to sustain real, interpersonal relationships, or perhaps forced into support groups we can’t “next” out of.

Adam McCall is a College sophomore from Acton, Mass. He is the speaker of the Student Government Association.