caireen said:
PunkInDrublic said:
^He wasn't really wrong about non sex workers coming across as more likeable and enjoyable to be around in general tho. I haven't been around camgirls much in real life but I've been around enough strippers(turned camgirls) to know that it has some truth to it. I know we all like to pretend that being a camgirl is all sunshine and rainbows but it has a pretty obvious negative impact on many.
Yes, according to your small sample let's just make sweeping generalizations about thousands of women. I think I'm pretty awesome to be around in "real life", thanks, and so are most camgirls I've met (I'm sure it's more than you have met, actually). Camgirls are some of the most hard-working, positive, open-minded, supportive women I've ever encountered.
You're looking at it from the perspective of a fellow camgirl, though. And camgirls tend to be more positive/open/'real' around other camgirls.
Personally, I can definitely say that camming has negatively impacted me socially. I'm either A.) super cautious about meeting new people in case they get creepy/know what I do for work and try to use that to their advantage somehow (as you can imagine, this has shrunk my social circle/potential friend base considerably), B.) try to control conversations because I'm so used to vetting a camroom that it's just second nature to do so (which is now a HUGE communication issue that doesn't give people the warm-and-fuzzies when talking to me), or C.) if approached by a potential friend as in example A... I'll act REALLY bitchy as a sort of defense mechanism to try to get out of the situation because of my fear of being 'outed' online - hell, I don't even introduce myself with my real first name anymore, just in case the person is a crazy. That is NOT healthy, and I know it.
Now, that has nothing to do with my actual, real personality, and none of these things were an issue before I started camming 2 years ago. Which means that camming has changed my social behaviors in such a way that it's obvious to me, and none of them are in a positive way. At this point, I'm more comfortable talking to people through a computer than I am in person, and that is a HUGE problem. It's so bad that I've considered quitting camming to try to reclaim my actual personality instead of just being stuck in 'Gemma's headspace all of the time... but unfortunately, I can't financially do that right now.
Pretending that there aren't negative consequences to camming is rather naive; yes, it has the positives as well (working from home, good income, independence, etc.), but the downsides (social isolation, paranoia, communication issues) are also very real. These are issues within the camgirl community that you see examples of all of the time. And don't get me started on alcohol and drug abuse. Sweeping these sorts of things under the rug is NOT the way to help ladies who are struggling with those feelings/behaviors.
:twocents-02cents: