Have webcams changed the way people relate to each other?

Just about every computer sold today has a webcam built in or supplied with it, the iPad is a notable exception but that's just a marketing ploy. Webcams are everywhere. Many digital cameras can double as a webcam so there are plenty of people around who might not even know they own one. That said it's less likely that these individuals will use theirs.

 Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger and Skype have been instrumental in pushing forward the use of webcams throughout the world. The use of webcams to display images from public spaces has been a long established use of the technology.

The first and most popular static surveillance webcam was the Trojan Room Coffee Machine at Cambridge University in the UK. It ran from 1991 to 2001 and became extremely popular.

It wasn't until 1996 when JenniCam came online that the voyeuristic possibilities of webcams began to be fully recognised. Jennifer Ringley, 19 at the time,  was the first Lifecaster showing all aspects of her life over the internet. She ceased broadcasting in 2004 but is remembered as a pioneer of the webcam.

But are webcams useful?
They can be. As recently as 3rd February (2010) a German man was saved from almost certain death because a woman watching the sunset saw his distress signal. Report here. A dig around on the internet will bring up a few other such incidents such as this brief report of a mother saved when she fell into a diabetic coma.

Without doubt though one of the biggest drivers of webcam usage is for 'Adult encounters' and there are a wealth of sites for this. Some free, some definitely not free.

What's the appeal?
There are several significant reasons for the popularity of the adult webcam sites such as:

• no need to form close personal relationships (Not saying this is a good thing)
• the ultimate safe sex
• voyeurs and exhibitionist alike can satisfy each other's needs
• sexual experimentation where there will be plenty of fans for your fetish

There are other reasons too but these are a good start.

The appeal is pretty obvious but what about the downsides?
There are a few of these too but the major one is probably linked to the lack of real human contact, unless you are one of those who does it with a consenting partner.

The distancing effect of webcams is enhanced by sex and the permissiveness it creates not only allows for the increased sexual expression but it also allows misogynistic views of women to flourish. This is completely the opposite of the empowerment sought by the women's movement for so long.

On balance webcams have provided an improved means of communication, a picture is worth a thousand words, but there are a few flaws in the model.

The question is will the parents of today equip their youngsters for the online visually enhanced world?