Webcam models mostly perform individually in separate video chat rooms, which are frequently referred to as rooms.
Webcam performers are often highly entrepreneurial, and use mainstream social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Skype, and Tumblr to build and maintain relationships with their customers.
Kari Lerum of the University of Washington suggests that men are more open and vulnerable in cam rooms than in strip clubs, and can become very invested in relationships which only exist on the screen.
The term webcam is a clipped compound used to combine the terms video camera and World Wide Web.
A webcam model often performs erotic acts online, such as stripping, in exchange for money, goods, or attention. Since many webcam models operate independently from their homes, they are free to choose the amount of sexual content for their broadcasts.
In 1996 an American college student and conceptual artist, Jenny Ringley, created a website called "Jenni Cam." Her web camera was located in her dorm room and automatically photographed her every few minutes.