Hey everyone,
I’m currently 56 days sober and so far have avoided doing the whole meeting thing. Even though I still feel very hesitant as part of a promise to myself to prioritize myself and doing more of what’s right for me and my sobriety I though I’d checkout an online meeting. So I went onto the everything AA app and quickly became overwhelmed by how many meetings there were to choose from . My question is what kind of meeting should I be looking for? I seen one mention you didn’t have to have your camera on… Does that mean if it doesn’t say that I have to have my camera on? Because I’m not sure I’m comfortable with having my camera on. Anyways any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated so I can maybe make another attempt tomorrow. Thanks
I believe you can choose to have your camera on or off on any of them. This is your recovery, they have theirs and what feels comfortable to some isn’t the same across all. You do what feels right for you in a meeting. The others in there should already grasp this.
There are ALWAYS people with no camera on in larger meetings, or you can set your name to “Tisha-just listening” on your zoom so you wont be asked to read or share. Thats the etiquette i have seen.
They will typically ask “is there anyone at an AA meeting for the first time?” Totally your choice to speak up or not, turn your camera on for this or not. But newcomers are superstars in AA 
Happy your open to trying it! Its done wonders for me.
Don’t worry too much about the camera thing.
There will be a lot of people with no cameras on.
It’s normal.
They also will never force you to turn on your camera regardless of what the room says about cameras or not.
They may say something like please turn on your camera in the beginning, but it’s only if you want to. Nobody will force you.
I attend meetings and don’t feel comfortable turning on my camera. At times I do raise my hand and share, but even when talking/sharing, my camera is sometimes turned off. All good.
My plan is to just listen in on a few first. But as I scrolled through there was so many different meetings with different descriptions I didn’t know where to begin. I became overwhelmed and a bit anxious and decided maybe tomorrow. I may just be over thinking it as I sometimes do but thought I’d ask here if anyone had any suggestions 
Maybe try a speaker meeting? Those have a longterm sober person share for about 45 minutes at the top with everyone listening, then shares after. Sone of my favorites!
Great question. By the way, where is the link for all the meetings?
Download the Everything AA app and use their online meeting finder. Or tgis seems to be the same website:
I will second a speaker meeting - hearing a longer, personal story really helps you to relate to something. Or a beginners meeting. I personally would avoid a literature study heavy meeting for now.
I have been to a couple of female-only meetings where they do insist you put your camera on for a few seconds to check you are in fact female. All-female meetings are sadly sometimes targeted by lewd meeting bombers. Other than that, feel free to keep camera off, just listen, as you like. Also, if you attend a meeting and it doesn’t jive with you, try a different one another time. Hopefully, eventually you can find one that you like that suits your schedule and you can attend frequently.
Not a fan of zoom meetings im a face to face guy but times have changed seems you have had good advice from the guys here wish you well
I attend Recovery Dharma online meetings. I choose those that fit in my schedule and that somehow speak to me. Usually after a few times I either feel like this is a good fit or not so much.
I started attending with mic and camera off. Then at some point turned the cam on only listening. Now I participate depending on my needs.
Join any meeting, listen, get a feeling and keep looking until you get a feeling for them.
Morning, from my online meeting experience no you don’t have to have your camera on if you don’t feel comfortable and you can just listen. Although I would highly recommend in person meetings maybe a new comer meeting where step 1 is talked about. It can be overwhelming but it’s part of the process if you want to stay sober. I’ve always been told that our addiction is doing push ups in the parking lot trying to get stronger to suck you back in. Everyone is different but depending on your schedule a meeting a day for a month or 2 months is a good start. Not everyone has to do this and I never did but I got a sponsor right away to guide me. Hope that helps
If you just want to listen and get the feel of various meetings, I suggest the link below. It’s a great platform, but it’s not zoom. You are never required to show your face and will only be called on to share if you request to do so. It’s like your sitting in an audience listening to others and you choose when or if you want to participate.
Thank you for the suggestion 