The number of webcam models is significantly rising during the Coronavirus lockdown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are currently millions of adults at home with an internet connection and long hours to fill ahead of them. Those who sell pleasure and distraction online couldn’t have wished for a better situation than the quarantine that has been forced upon us by the coronavirus pandemic. Among them are webcam girls, who are currently seeing their businesses thrive.
In this article, current and former workers that used to offer their services through webcams and online platforms let us in on all the secrets to how they started off in the business, their earnings and how the current situation is affecting their job. Keep reading to get to know the job’s insights with Amber Kelly, a former stripper from London, who was weighing up the idea of becoming an escort and find out about hers and other escorts’ stories.
Currently, the number of searches on adult websites keeps rising. Visits to Pornhub, an adult content site that publishes its site traffic data, speak for themselves. Since 17th March, Spain’s traffic has increased by 61%, and in France, by 38%. This is an increase similar to the one experienced in Italy in the peak of their health crisis, with 57% more visits to the site.
In addition to confining us all at home, the obligatory isolation enforced in several countries has also left escorts and adult film stars without work. Like many other citizens, they are forced to stay at home. But thanks to the internet, they have a very appealing alternative for work.
“Millions of potential clients are trapped at home with nothing to do. It’s the perfect situation for us,” explains Los Angeles adult film star Kate Kennedy in the New York Post.
All the young pornstar had to do was set up her own channel and she immediately had a hundred exclusive subscribers willing to pay to see her. Thanks to them, Kennedy thinks she will be looking at four figures.
Another case is that of Tyler Faith, an exotic dancer, who explained to The Sun that she cancelled her dance sessions for fear of being infected. For her, the safest way to keep her income going is to work from home via her webcam. She’s sure she won’t be short of work during the next few months.
This is how much a camgirl earns
Adult film stars are not the only ones making money these days with just a webcam and their image. Unlike what happens to actresses, webcam models work independently from home with no risks at all. They set their own rates and get paid daily or sometimes weekly. This promise of lucrative work makes some young women wanting to start working over their webcam to take advantage of the forced isolation the pandemic has imposed on us. Some do it as a way of supplementing their income whilst they work on another job or complete their studies.
Amber Kelly is an elite model who is not new to the business. Amber, (not her real name), has been making money over her webcam for over three years now. “One of the reasons I love it so much is because your identity is completely hidden. A lot of us wear wigs. Some girls wear masks”, she tells The Sun.
Kelly used to be a stripper and would now want to start working in the escort business. She currently charges per minute, and her rate varies depending on individual clients or groups. In four hours, she can make £500. “It can really rack up…out of one call and into another one. It can go up to £1000 a day if you put the work in,” she explains.
An established adult film star is estimated to earn around 500 euros per scene. But that’s not the case for newcomers to the industry, who rarely go above 200 euros.
Unlike the viewing of adult videos, the experience of connecting with the girls live is personalised to the tastes of the client. Kelly explains that the camera helps them to have a sense of personal connection with the girls.
The girls also prefer this option to in-person, because they earn more and feel safer at home. “My clients don’t know where I am,” she says. The clients also probably benefit from the guarantee of anonymity. Among the model’s clients are bankers, lawyers and other high-level professionals.
What happens during a call depends on the person calling, the length of time they pay for and their connection with the model. And although almost 100% of interactions involve some form of sex, some clients are looking for a call similar to one they would have with a partner, to the point that models say the relationship they have with some clients is not much different from an online relationship.
Other models specialise in certain services to ensure a fixed clientele. Ultimately, there are so many advantages and it is so easy to make money that many of the models are not planning on quitting. In many cases, no one around them knows what they really work in. And according to them, it is better viewed than adult film.
Visits are increasing in China as well
But these searches are not only going up in the US and UK, the two main world providers of adult content. Searches on the biggest Chinese search engine, Baidu, have also seen a considerable rise.
The country has developed sophisticated AI algorithms, used by platforms such as Alibaba, which detect any kind of suspicious content. That doesn’t stop users from trying to get around the censors by searching for adult content produced in Europe and the US, just as the search words indicate.
But Chinese users cannot get far in their searches. Strict government censorship of the internet mainly involves everything to do with sex. Together with gambling, the content of a sexual nature is considered a taboo subject in the Chinese culture.
