Meet the off-screen workers who keep the adult webcam industry running

In Colombia, camming monitors train models, translate chats, and provide tech support.

Nelson Farias works nine hours a day in a house-turned-webcam studio in the La Aguacatala neighborhood of Medellín, Colombia’s second-largest city. His desk setup consists of three screens, which he uses to monitor the live, erotic webcam performances of nine models performing for clients all around the world. While some models sing into dildo “microphones,” pose, or touch themselves, others dance, exercise, or simply chat to users...