As I feel it's important to show a different experience and it's the first time I've ever written about it here is my post, with the personal bit I was worried about taken out. Sorry for making a mess of the thread :(.
-Hi,
I'd like to add my opinion and experience if that's ok.
I work as a cam girl. It's not something I'm proud of and yes to a certain degree I'm ashamed of it, but I feel I'm making the best of a bad situation. Let me explain what led to this point:
5 years ago I went into hospital for a number of months. I lost my job. When I left hospital I was on ESA and DLA which was enough to live on and stay in my flat. Due to timing, they were suddenly cut off with a month's notice. At that point I tried to get a 'normal' job but had no luck, probably not helped by having a gap on my CV and also my sick days were something like 180 days / the last 365 (my job was paying my sick pay while I was in hospital). Anyway, to cut a long story short I had £2.50 in my bank account and I was worried I was going to lose my flat and literally become homeless. My friend was doing cam work and it made me think of it and I decided to sign up and started working. It meant I could keep my flat, and I had money to live on.
It isn't easy money. It might be well paid - sometimes - and fast money but it isn't easy.
If you go on any of the big name sites like MFC and you look at the number of girls online, and you go halfway down the page, you can really quickly see that most people aren't even making minimum wage.
Sometimes I have OK interactiosn with people but for the most part I find it horrible and degrading. I hate getting naked and I hate touching myself. I don't do anything that explicit and sometimes I kind of fake it.
My situation is complicated bc due to an accident I also have physical health problems and am in quite a lot of pain. I can't walk or stand more than 10 minutes a day which has really limited my life and had a big impact on me. It's restricted so much stuff and turned my life upside down. So many things I want to do, even stuff like a day out with friends, I just can't. Or even just going for a walk. I'd love that. It changed everything. At this point, I don't think I'd be able to hold down a 'normal' job like I used to, 9-5. I have so many days where I just don't feel well enough to work. And working part time I wouldn't bring in enough money to stay in my flat. This is the first place I've lived where I feel safe, and I don't want to lose that. it's everything I worked for.
I work a bare minimum and just try to earn £1000 a month so I can live on it and not have to interact too much with people online. I can sometimes do that in 1-2 hours per day. Other days it can take longer - I rmember once working for 12 hours and earning nothing (literally). I would say on average I earn about £50 an hour though.
I also am registered with HMRC and pay tax, national insurance class 2 and 4.
Would I want my son or daughter doing this? Not really. It does teach you some good skills like marketing, social media, running a business, promoting things, etc.
But at the end of the day it is (mostly) talking sexually, getting naked or doing things to yourself for money. A lot of time I log off and cry, you have to pretend you enjoy it and the people on the other end have no idea. It sometimes leaves you feeling desperately sad.
I'd give anything to be able to have a normal, full time job. I do feel without the combination of physical and mental health problems I've had, I would NEVER have in a million years ended up doing this. But I do think it's better off than losing my flat and being homeless.
Before anyone says about JSA - I did consider that. But it's £300 a month. Living where I live, not possible to live on that, my bills are about £250 a month, then there is food, toiletries, any household stuff, clothes (being realistic, you can't go for years without buying any), anything that breaks, anything you need to buy. I just didn't want to lose my home. It's everything to me.
Sometimes the hardest part for me is the person on the other end having no idea and thinking you chose to do this for fun and you enjoy it and are some kind of sex crazed slag. They have NO idea. The way they talk to you can be vile. Or sitting there in pain and desperately wanting to get offline, or ending up doing stuff you don't want to do/aren't comfortable with, just so you can get offline quicker.
I wish things were different. I don't want my life to be this.