It absolutely does not have to be face-to-face. Since you use Wikipedia:

Sex work is “the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_work

the system is setup to be unhealthy and manipulative to everyone but the top of the pyramid.

Bruh. You just described almost every company on the planet…