Je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt, umso unpersönlicher wirkt das Gespräch.

It creates a correlative comparative structure: the more ..., the more ... / the longer ..., the more ...

So:

• Je länger ... = The longer ...
• umso unpersönlicher ... = the more impersonal ...

This pattern is very common in German. You can often also use desto instead of umso:

• Je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt, desto unpersönlicher wirkt das Gespräch.

That means the same thing.

Because je is the word that introduces the first half of this comparison pattern.

Compare:

• länger = longer
• je länger = the longer

In English, the in the longer does not mean a specific thing; it is part of a comparative pattern. German uses je for that first part.

So Je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt ... means The longer the webcam stays switched off ...

Because the clause beginning with je behaves like a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses the finite verb usually goes to the end.

So:

• die Webcam bleibt ausgeschaltet = main clause word order
• je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt = subordinate-clause word order

That is why bleibt comes at the end of that first clause.

ausgeschaltet is the past participle of ausschalten (to switch off / turn off), but in this sentence it functions like an adjective.

So ausgeschaltet bleiben means:

• to remain switched off
• to stay turned off

You can think of it as describing the state of the webcam.

Similar examples:

• Die Tür bleibt geschlossen. = The door remains closed.
• Das Licht bleibt aus. = The light stays off.

Because the sentence is describing a state, not an action being done to the webcam at that moment.

• Die Webcam wird ausgeschaltet. = The webcam is being switched off. / gets switched off.
• Die Webcam bleibt ausgeschaltet. = The webcam remains switched off.

So bleibt ausgeschaltet focuses on the condition continuing over time.

Because this construction needs a comparative form in both parts.

• unpersönlich = impersonal
• unpersönlicher = more impersonal

Since the sentence compares degrees, German uses the comparative:

• Je länger ..., umso unpersönlicher ... = The longer ..., the more impersonal ...

Using just unpersönlich would not match the comparative structure.

umso introduces the second half of the comparison and means something like:

• all the more
• the more

So:

• Je länger ..., umso unpersönlicher ... = The longer ..., the more impersonal ...

As mentioned above, desto is also very common here and means the same thing in this structure.

Because the second clause is a main clause, and in German main clauses the finite verb normally comes in second position.

The first element here is:

• umso unpersönlicher

Then comes the verb:

• wirkt

Then the subject:

• das Gespräch

So the structure is:

• Umso unpersönlicher | wirkt | das Gespräch

This is normal German word order.

Both are possible in principle, but German main clauses require the verb to be in second position.

Since the sentence begins with umso unpersönlicher, that first position is already occupied. The verb must then come next:

• Umso unpersönlicher wirkt das Gespräch.

If you started with the subject instead, you would get a different word order:

• Das Gespräch wirkt umso unpersönlicher, je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt.

That is also correct, but it is structured differently.

wirken means to seem, to come across as, or to have the effect of seeming.

So:

• Das Gespräch ist unpersönlich = The conversation is impersonal
• Das Gespräch wirkt unpersönlich = The conversation seems impersonal / comes across as impersonal

Using wirkt makes the statement a bit softer and more about impression rather than an absolute fact.

Here it functions adverbially.

It comes from lang (long), and länger is the comparative form (longer). In this sentence it modifies the idea of duration:

• wie lange? = how long?
• länger = longer

So Je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt ... means The longer the webcam stays switched off ...

Because each one is the subject of its own clause.

In the first clause:

• die Webcam is the thing that bleibt (remains)

In the second clause:

• das Gespräch is the thing that wirkt (seems / comes across)

So both are nominative subjects.

Yes, very often. It is a flexible pattern.

Examples:

• Je früher du kommst, umso besser. = The earlier you come, the better.
• Je mehr ich lerne, umso sicherer fühle ich mich. = The more I study, the more confident I feel.
• Je länger wir warten, desto schwieriger wird es. = The longer we wait, the harder it becomes.

So the sentence you were given follows a very common German pattern.

Yes. German allows some variation. For example:

• Das Gespräch wirkt umso unpersönlicher, je länger die Webcam ausgeschaltet bleibt.

This means the same thing.

The original version puts the je-clause first, which is very natural. The alternative puts the main clause first and the je-clause afterward.

A small but useful point: Gespräch is a neuter noun, which is why the article is das:

• das Gespräch

That is why the subject in the second clause is das Gespräch and not der or die Gespräch.

Also, the verb is singular:

• das Gespräch wirkt

because Gespräch is singular.