Maybe because our society as a whole is voyeuristic in nature. We like to sit back at a safe distance and watch things unfold before our eyes. As long as we the viewers don t get our fingers dirty it s all right. Ok, so maybe I m being just a tad to negative, but the basic point is the same. People like the idea of spying on or watching things they re not supposed to.
Web cams provide the perfect outlet for that kind of thing.
You can anonymously sit at your desk and nose around locations you d almost never be able to see in real life. In many ways the act of watching something on a web cam is more the draw then the actual thing you re looking at. On the flip side of the coin you have to wonder why other people are so eager to put t hemselves on display for the whole world to see. Sticking a camera on your plant is one thing, chucking it on top of your monitor and broadcasting yourself to the whole world is another. If you re a little less self conscious then me or just want to show the whole world the view from your apartment, its now become surprisingly easy to do so.