Video-conferencing apps aren’t the only ones cashing in on worldwide lockdowns. Since the start of the pandemic and shelter-in-place orders, demand for online adult entertainment has skyrocketed. It makes sense, of course, especially considering the many people not isolating with someone they enjoy being intimate with.
So we turn to the internet to satiate our desires in any way possible. And that goes far beyond what we might consider ‘traditional’ porn.
Cam sites, many of which connect viewers with live models, have seen a substantial uptick in both new performers and new members. And, the situation has turned out to be the launchpad the teledildonics industry needed all along.
In COVID-19 times, camming and internet-connected dildos are a match made in heaven. It's the next best thing to real human contact.
Cams.com models can opt to work with interactive vibrators that respond to viewers' tips, with the option of "buzz" or "super buzz."
With the spike in buzz activity, Cams.com told Input that models' earnings were up 21 percent in April 2020 compared to January 2020 (or pre-COVID in the U.S.).
Even without cam models leading the way, people stuck in lockdown have been lapping up teledildonic devices to connect to partners far and wide — despite cautionary advice about their functionality.
Popular smart sex toy-makers like Kiiroo and Vibease have seen their devices flying off the shelves in recent weeks.
And we can't forget about VR, of course.
In early March, porn company VR Bangers said demand for the experience had increased “beyond the wildest expectations of the creators.”
“Virtual reality technology is nothing new for the xxx industry, but such VR adult scenes have never been as popular as regular, 2-dimensional adult films – which, however, can be changed by the coronavirus pandemic,” the company said.
Teledildonics aside, camming on its own is way up as a result of COVID-19. Between March and April, adult entertainment site CamSoda saw its overall traffic double compared to last year.
Experts are torn on what the longterm outlook is for sex tech as we've come to use it — will we hang onto our new habits once the pandemic blows over? — but there's no denying its importance in keeping us from getting too restless.
“COVID-19 may be a turning point in the use of, and attitudes toward, technologically mediated sex and intimacy,” researchers Jennifer Power and Andrea Waling noted in a recent essay on the topic. It is, however, too soon to know for sure, the pair says.
Hookups may be on pause indefinitely but creativity is doing better than ever. Maybe we'll all come out of this wielding a better relationship with personal pleasure and a few new tricks up our sleeves. But in the meantime...