There are a number of popular, commercial webcam websites that allow people to openly masturbate on camera while others watch them.

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Alternatively, it can be considered a form of sexual roleplay that allows the participants to experience unusual sexual sensations and carry out sexual experiments they cannot try in reality.

Amongst "serious" roleplayers, cybering may occur as part of a larger plot–the characters involved may be lovers or spouses.

The exact definition of cybersex—specifically, whether real-life masturbation must be taking place for the online sex act to count as cybersex—is up for debate.