Virtual “rooms” where users connected to the Internet can interact by exchanging messages typed into an input box and displayed in the chat room window for other users to view and respond to. Typically, a user name identifies the individual in the chat room. Many chat rooms exist for different themes. In recent years, users, particularly females and children, have been warned by the police to take precautions when in a chat room to prevent cyberharassment and cyberstalking.

See Also: Cyberharassment; Cyberstalkers and Cyberstalking; Internet.