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Worley: "With a click of a button, this free website instantly connects you to a stranger. You can decide whether to stay and talk or move on."

Worley (on chat): "Goodbye!"

Stranger: "Wait, wait!"

Worley (on chat): "Oh, it's so bad... Uh oh, bathrobe." (ABC News)

It's been compared to speed dating on the Internet and hailed as the anti-Facebook. It's Chatroulette, the controversial website that randomly connects people - and their webcams - all over the world.  But what's the appeal of a site that offers an unmoderated look into a stranger's life--and gives them a glimpse into yours?

We're looking at perspectives from ABC News, The New York Times, CBS, and the Globe and Mail.
 
Guests on ABC's Good Morning America say Chatroulette's intrigue stems from both its anonymity and its intimacy.

John Herrman: "You can go in knowing full well that you'll never see these people again. You'll never know their names or anything about them."

Stranger": "The ability to have short, odd glimpses into people's lives and kind of channel-surf through individuals is interesting."

One writer for the New York Times' Bits Blog says the site's popularity is partly due to its refreshing departure from popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.  Chatroulette does not require a username or password, and other users are identified only as "Stranger."

"Every status update or photo we share online becomes an indelible tattoo of where we’ve been and who we’ve been with... In contrast, Chatroulette is a social website that allows you to navigate somewhat incognito."

But on Los Angeles' CBS affiliate, former Los Angeles prosecutor Robin Sax says the site's outrageous reputation is appealing to kids, and warns parents to be on the lookout.

"Kids love dangerous activities ... It has the appearance of any other kind of chat or video chat or iChat, Skype, or anything like that. Parents can be deceived into thinking, oh my kid's on a conversation with someone they know, but in fact they're playing roulette with chatting with some stranger."

A columnist for The Globe and Mail says he is not convinced people are actually that repulsed by the X-rated content on the site.

"A lot of what makes Chatroulette so fascinating is the fact that the real conversations and the bizarro encounters with people who may or may not be wearing pants seem to by symbiotically linked. They're the yin and the yang of Chatroulette. People who play on the site are there because it on some level it is titillating, and exciting, and a little mind blowing. At the same time, they probably wouldn't stay if there were no real conversation to be had at the end of the day."

So what do you think of Chatroulette? Is it a social media option that will stick around? Or is it too different to catch on?

Writer: Tracy Pfeiffer

Producer: Newsy Staff