With the rise of remote side hustles and digital sex work platforms promising eye-watering payouts, one curious woman decided to take matters — and a webcam — into her own hands.
Instead of speculating about what cam girls actually do, Rosie signed up herself.
“I’d always been curious,” she says. “Not in a full-on career-change kind of way — but more like, what’s it really like when you’re sat there, waiting for strangers to tip you? It just sounded a little too good to be true.”
And so, she joined Flirtbate, one of the newer cam platforms specialising in adult video chat. “I had never heard of it, but a friend mentioned it to me, and the fact that the site offers up to 80% payouts to its performers,” she says. “The site also claims to be beginner-friendly, open to all body types, and — crucially for me— doesn’t require the kind of social media graft needed to build an OnlyFans empire. That’s all I needed to hear.”
“I’ve got zero interest in spending a year growing a following,” she explains. “And I’ve heard so many stories of women posting daily and still making nothing on there. You only hear about the ones raking in millions — the rest are pretty much unheard of.”
10am – The Long Wait
Signing up to Flirtbate took under ten minutes. After uploading a few body-revealing-but-not-explicit pics and verifying her ID, she was live.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy,” she admits. “My pictures showed some skin — a bit of bum, some sideboob — but nothing crazy. I chose not to show my face in these pics either. I wanted to test the waters, not ruin what reputation I had left.”
She set her rate at 17 credits per minute, which she felt was fair for a total newbie. Then she waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
“The first few hours were honestly so dull. I thought I’d at least get some creep in another time zone. But nope. I made food, watched telly, sat in my dressing gown — nothing. I was starting to realise this may be more of an evening job. Silly of me, I know.”
2pm – The First Message
It took four hours before a user finally reached out.
“He messaged me asking how long I’d been on there and what I was into. It felt kind of like flirting on Tinder — it was basically small talk.”
The conversation lasted half an hour. Then, just as she thought she’d bagged her first regular, he disappeared without warning.
“I thought we were vibing! But he just… vanished. Yeah, it’s not the first time I’ve been ghosted, but I was definitely not expecting it to happen on a cam site.”
Still, the mood shifted. When she next checked her laptop, she had ten new messages waiting — and most of them were far less shy.
“Some were straight in with ‘private show?’ or ‘will you show boobs?’ Not the most charming of opening messages, so I focused on the ones that had more effort put into them.”
2.30pm – Boobs & Pennies
One user requested a video call almost instantly. His request was simple: he wanted her to watch him masturbate.
“He didn’t want anything from me, really. Just for me to jiggle my boobs a bit and say sexy things while he cracked one out.”
The session lasted five minutes. No nudity on her end, and barely any chat.
“It was weirdly clinical. I started to question why I was even doing this in the first place. I remember thinking there was no way people could do this every day. It was mind-numbing.”
She made a few quid — barely worth it, she admits. But then came a second call, and this time she decided to get strategic.
2.45pm – Stretching the Session
This next user was far more interactive. He greeted her politely and seemed up for a bit of conversation.
“I knew I had to keep him on the line longer. Every minute means more credits. At first, I was thinking of ways to stall him, but it turns out there was no need. We actually got on quite well, and I was actually enjoying our chat. For a second, I forgot what site I was on!”
She asked him questions, teased him, and undressed very slowly… at his request, of course.
“He was clearly loving it. We both knew what was happening, but I was the one in control. I think that’s why I was enjoying myself so much.”
The call lasted over an hour. She made $15 — not a jackpot, but decent for sitting in her room, topless and enjoying a good conversation.
5pm – Now We’re Talking!
By the early evening, things kicked off. Between 5 pm and midnight, she cammed with five different users, and finally started seeing proper money.
“I ended the day on around $250, and most of that came from tips,” she says.
Two men tipped her generously after private shows where she, well, did a little ‘solo play’ on cam. But some requests got… stranger.
“One guy wanted me to pull faces like an anime girl while wearing brightly coloured socks. He wasn’t into nudity — just the socks and the faces. Another wanted me to hypnotise him with my boobs. I had no idea what I was doing, but I just said stuff like, ‘You’re getting sleepy.’ He loved it.”
Then came the spoon guy.
“He wanted me to suck on a spoon and call him a naughty boy. I literally sat there, tongue on a dessert spoon, saying, ‘You’ve been a very naughty boy, haven’t you?’ over and over.”
She laughs now, but says the men weren’t creepy — just very specific.
“They weren’t rude. Just odd. But kind of sweet? Honestly, I didn’t feel dirty or exploited. If anything, I was the one running the show.”
Would I Do It Again?
While she’s not planning to give up her day job, she admits the experience was eye-opening.
“It’s not life-changing money. But I made $250 in five hours and didn’t even have to get fully naked.”
“If I ever need extra cash, I know I can log on and make it. I’m not sure I’d go full-time — but I’ll definitely be back.”
