This is an exploratory look into the porn industry, the economic situations of both developing countries and people affected by lockdown. The increase demand for webcam technology and the rise of webcam models around the world.
- $9226.92 was spent on pornography in the time it took you to read this sentence.
- On average, 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography at any given second.
- An adult related search term is being typed into a search engine every second.
- An estimated 12% of all websites online are pornographic.
- 68 million pornographic requests are submitted to search engines every day, 25% of all search engine requests.
- 42.7% of internet users have viewed pornographic materials more than once.
These stats were taken from a 2016 article from nudelive.com/study/. While these numbers are impossible to pin down to create an exact figure and maybe have changed a little over time, they are useful to convey the sheer weight that the porn industry has in and around the world wide web. Since the very beginnings of the internet itself the porn industry has been present, by it’s side, every step of the way.
In recent years, one facet of the porn/adult industry that has been growing and growing exponentially is the webcam industry. Providing not just women but men, trans and literally any consenting adult the opportunity to make vast sums of money with nothing more than a webcam, an internet connection and their own imagination.
Never more so has this growth rate been so noticeably accelerated than in countries who are experiencing an economic downturn. Poor negative growth and inflation rates causing recessions and wide swept unemployment particularly in Eastern European countries such as Romania and Hungary and South American countries such as Columbia and Venezuela. These economic challenges are the catalyst for people, (particularly women) to become webcam models as a new source of income and with a world of customers out there ready to spend, spend, spend it almost seems like a no-brainer to take some of that money that’s out there, particularly if you can earn more in a month than many others take home in a year. The nudelive article explains a little further:
“The earning potential for cam models is significant for residents of countries such as Venezuela where the minimum wage is equivalent to only $35 per month. In fact, if we take an example of a cam girl from Venezuela who is in her thirties and working less than 10 hours per week, she can still expect to make at least $600 per month, more than 17 times the minimum wage. However, this is at the lower end of the earning potential scale for cam girls in the country. Models who have access to a fast internet connection and who spend 40 hours plus per week on webcam can expect to earn thousands of dollars per month. This is an extraordinary opportunity for people who would otherwise never see that kind of money in their lifetime. It is therefore no surprise that as the economic crises worsens in Venezuela, more and more women are turning to the adult webcam industry to make a living.”
Learning of this correlation between countries experiencing economic crises and increasing numbers of webcam models signing up to perform online. One wonders if the recent lockdown that we have all been experiencing has in some way spurred on a new surge in webcam models signing up to cam sites such as Babestation cams and others of the like. It has certainly caused an increased demand for webcams. The technology was mostly used for gameplay streaming and other content creation before this year’s two lockdowns struck and suddenly everybody needed them for work meetings, staying in touch with friends and even access to health care. In August 2020, in an article in gadget-cover.com it is said that: Logitech, (Babestation’s preferred producer of webcams) has ramped up production and has started shipping its webcams by air freight instead of sea, to reach retailers as quickly as possible. A logitech spokesperson is reported to have said, “We are still chasing demand at this point,” The article goes on to say: “AVerMedia is another hardware maker that has seen an explosion in webcam sales, with the company reporting that its worldwide webcam demand has increased by more than 200 times since the start of the pandemic.”
That’s a dramatic increase and the demand for webcams from the adult industry is without doubt a contributor to these figures.
Babestation’s own stats indicate a 65% increase in signups since lockdown began compared to pre lockdown.
These statistics are also backed up by a variety of news stories about women all over the country wanting to become webcam models to subsidise or even replace the jobs that have been lost or come under threat from nationwide lockdown. Stories such as this one from May 2020 on tyla.com which reports of Bethany losing her job as a Finance and HR Manager as a result of the Coronavirus and becoming a webcam model to solve her financial troubles. In the article Bethany says, “I considered claiming Universal Credit, but financially it made no sense. I would have been given £70 a week on Job Seekers, whereas now I’m earning £2,000 a week.”
If this story has struck a chord with you and if you or anyone you know is interested in finding out more about starting a career as a webcam model with Babestation, check out the recruitment section of our website right here for everything you need to know about setting up your profile and getting started.
