Not long ago, admitting you met someone online came with a shrug or a raised eyebrow. That has changed fast. Today, meeting people on the internet is not the exception — for many people it is the default.
If you have ever wondered whether using a video chat app to meet someone new is "normal," the research has a clear answer.
Online dating is now mainstream
The Pew Research Center, in a 2023 study of more than 6,000 US adults, found that online dating has become a familiar part of everyday social life rather than a fringe activity. A large share of adults have used a dating site or app, and the practice spans ages and backgrounds.
In other words, the stigma has largely faded. Meeting someone through a screen is now one of the ordinary ways people expand their social world.
Online is now the most common way couples meet
The shift is even clearer in long-term research. Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, in a study published in PNAS, found that meeting online has become the single most common way heterosexual couples in the US get together — overtaking older routes like introductions through friends, family or church.
When the most common origin story for couples is "we met online," meeting a stranger on a video call is not unusual at all. It is simply the modern front door to a new connection.
What this means for video chat
Random video chat takes the same idea and removes the waiting. Instead of swiping through profiles and trading messages for days, a live one-on-one match lets you see who someone actually is in seconds. On OmeVideoChat the match is created live, so you are talking face to face with a real person almost immediately.
So if part of you still feels self-conscious about meeting people online, the data is reassuring: you are doing something millions of people now treat as completely normal — just faster and more honest, because it is on camera.
Frequently asked questions
Is meeting people online still seen as weird?
Not really. Pew Research Center data shows online dating and meeting people online are now mainstream parts of social life in the US, used across age groups. The old stigma has largely faded.
How do most couples meet now?
Research from Stanford's Michael Rosenfeld found that meeting online is now the most common way heterosexual couples in the US meet, ahead of being introduced by friends or family.
Is meeting a stranger on video chat normal?
Yes. Video chat is simply a faster, face-to-face version of meeting online. You see and hear a real person in real time instead of trading messages for days, which many people find more honest.