Beyond the Transaction: Commitment, Intimacy, and Investment in Online Camming Relationships

According to the investment model of commitment processes, relationships are more likely to persist when people are highly satisfied with their partner, invested in their relationship, and perceive poor alternatives to their relationship. Although this model has proven robust across relationship contexts, research has yet to examine commitment processes in online camming relationships—relationships between models and members of adult camming websites. An increasing number of people are engaging in online camming relationships, with some reporting that their interactions are not strictly sexual and involve some degree of intimacy. Yet, little is known about factors that facilitate commitment between models and members. In a cross-sectional study of models (N = 199) and members (N = 544) from LiveJasmin, a popular online camming site, we test whether satisfaction, investment, and alternatives are associated with current commitment and future planned investment among models and members. Based on past research suggesting that alternatives are not as predictive of commitment in multi-partnered relationships and that camming interactions can feature intimacy, we test an alternative model that replaces the quality of alternatives with intimacy. Results suggest that, in most cases, when models or members on camming sites reported greater satisfaction, investment, and intimacy, they, in turn, reported greater current commitment and intentions to invest in their relationship in the future, though quality of alternatives was not a significant predictor. These findings highlight the importance of intimacy in driving commitment within camming relationships, suggesting that emotional connections play a crucial role in sustaining these interactions beyond financial exchanges and relationship satisfaction.