A societal problem that deserves greater focus is the glorification of the adult entertainment industry. Adult entertainment refers to “any film, motion picture or videotape that primarily focuses on specified sexual activities” and “the sale, rental, or exhibition of material such as books, videos, or live performances” that feature sexual content. OnlyFans is a platform in which anyone age 18 or older can post sexual videos, photos and livestreams, and earn money from people who subscribe and pay monthly fees to see this content. OnlyFans is not nearly as well-known as pornography because OnlyFans did not become popular until the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the number of OnlyFans users escalated from 7.5 million in November 2020 to 85 million in December of the same year! Since OnlyFans is a relatively recent form of adult entertainment, many parents are not aware of its existence and are therefore less likely to have conversations with their children about the dangers of the platform.
A shift that I’ve noticed recently is the increased comfort OnlyFans creators have in promoting their content on social media. For example, there is one content house called the Bop House. It is an account created by several young women with the intent of using TikTok, as well as other platforms, to promote their OnlyFans accounts. While the women are of legal age to use OnlyFans, underage TikTok users can still see their TikToks made with the intention of drawing attention towards their inappropriate content. As of Jan. 4, 2025, the “the age demographics of TikTok are dominated by 10-19 year olds at 25%.
So, what are the consequences of this? There are many, but one that particularly stands out to me is how normalized and glorified sex work is becoming to teenage girls. As an 18-year-old myself, I am unsure of what career path I want to follow. Life is uncertain, which can be quite scary. Eighteen is a vulnerable age where your brain is not fully developed, making it easier to be influenced.
Seeing millionaire OnlyFans creators on social media creates the fantasy that by selling your body online, you can live a glamorous and easy life. Their page is filled with videos of fancy cars, incredibly nice houses, private jets and vacations, from beaches to trips to the Super Bowl. The women are also very vocal about how much money they make. Sophie Rain, one of the founders of the Bop House, is particularly rich. She recently posted her earning statistics, claiming that she is “Halfway to $100m” on Feb. 25.
By seeing this as a young adult, it is easy to believe you too can become a millionaire and access the same luxuries as the women in the Bop House. However, it is actually quite difficult to make money through OnlyFans. As of Dec. 15, 2024, OnlyFans has over 350 million users across the globe. Only the top 1% make over $100,000 annually, and the average creator has only 21 subscribers.
By flaunting an unrealistic lifestyle in front of millions of underage children, the Bop House and other creators are instilling an idea in growing minds that it’s possible to achieve the amount of success Rain has, likely leading them to feel jealous and insecure; two emotions already prominent in teen minds. Realistically, the only thing that will accompany the start of most OnlyFans accounts will be some potential money and the loss of career opportunities in the future. One woman shared that due to her participation in the adult entertainment industry, she “had a minor panic attack when I applied for my weekly benefits, watching the numbers dwindle to practically nothing. By March of 2014, I had no money — none.” You can click that link to read the rest of her story.
Joining the industry can ruin your life. Many people who’ve been a part of the industry recommend doing your research thoroughly before even considering it, including a woman named Lana Rhoades. The former sex worker explained that “if you’re considering this career, please talk to someone who’s left it first.”
Additionally, while OnlyFans may appear more private and less dangerous, that is untrue. It’s easy for subscribers to screenshot photos and videos after paying and send them to whoever they like, potentially reselling them to make even more money off a body that is not their own. The creepy men that take to this app that can also be physically dangerous. A man named Maurico Damien Guerrero stalked and broke into the home of a girl he met on OnlyFans. He was “charged with hiding in the woman’s attic for two days, sneaking down to her room and taking videos of her and stalking her prior to that.”
There are some terrible people out there, and by posting on this app at a young age creators are much more likely to be taken advantage of. Take Piper Rockelle, an influencer on social media. Piper’s mother, Tiffany Smith, has used Rockelle to make money from a young age and in October 2024, “agreed to pay $1.85 million in a settlement with 11 teen content creators who accused her of abuse and exploitation.” Rockelle with a similar setup as OnlyFans that includes photos of her subscribers must pay to access. Due to the she’s faced throughout her entire childhood, weird people on the internet expect Rockelle to create an OnlyFans account when she turns 18. Currently, Rockelle is 17, but still made TikToks on the Bop House page, which displays her to an audience of men who likely only follow the account for one reason. This exploitation of Piper is inappropriate, disgusting and should not be normalized to young TikTok users.
Overall, I think that if someone wants to make OnlyFans content, or any content pertaining to the adult entertainment industry, that is ultimately their choice. However, seeing a filtered, carefully constructed, and honestly, fake version of the supposed wonders creating OnlyFans content can bring you at age 18 is dangerous. You are still so young and have plenty of life ahead of you, and once you start posting, you can never go back. I encourage young women to explore the other possibilities life has to offer them before turning to this path.
I feel that this article places far too little focus on the patriarchal systems that have been deliberately designed to objectify, sexualize, and disadvantage women and far too much focus on some women who try to leverage their position in that system to profit financially. Perhaps you could instead talk about the slew of right-wing influencers who encourage men to treat women like objects and lead them to purchase subscriptions to OnlyFans accounts or the manipulative and predatory aspects of the more traditional sex work industry. Additionally, maybe the solution to sex workers being blackballed from future employers is to normalize sex work and not treat sex workers like social pariahs who have somehow revoked their status as normal and functioning members of society. Once again, the problem of OnlyFans creators being stalked and harrassed by psychotic fans should be examined through the lens of the patriarchal constructs that enable and encourage men to engage in these behaviors with little to no consequence, and not a reason to further demonize sex workers. Overall, I don’t personally find the argument of this article to be particularly productive in the conversation of sex work and its role in society.