Since the early days of live Internet broadcasts by Ringley and Amanda, the phenomenon of camming has grown to become a multi-billion dollar industry which has an average of at least 12,500 cam models online at any given time and more than 240,000 viewers at any given time.
However in free chat rooms payment is voluntary and is in the form of tips, thus providing the model with an income at a minimal cost for the multiple viewers of her chat room's video stream.
Some fans communicate multiple times a day with models through social media.
Unlike traditional pornography, the interactive nature of the camming medium titillates with the promise of virtual friendship.
Tips are electronic tokens that viewers can buy from a camming website, and then give to the models during live performances.
The tokens can also be used to buy videos or souvenirs of the model.