Teens as young as 12 see OnlyFans as an appealing alternative to traditional work, study finds
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A qualitative study involving Spanish adolescents found that many minors are familiar with OnlyFans and view it as a realistic source of income. The study raises concerns about how media exposure shapes adolescent perceptions of sexuality, gender, and economic opportunity.

A new study published in the journal Sexuality & Culture has found that many adolescents in Spain, including those as young as 12, are not only aware of OnlyFans but also see it as a viable and even empowering way to make money. In group discussions with over 160 teenagers, researchers discovered that platforms promoting erotic content are influencing how young people—especially girls—view economic opportunity, self-worth, and sexuality. Teens frequently framed content creation as a personal choice or expression of agency, while minimizing the risks.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    21·
    2 days ago

    I think that the larger problem is that you probably aren’t going to be an erotic actress for your whole life.

    Like, what the authors seem to be focusing on is the degree to which teens might see this as an alternative to traditional work or being educated:

    Another important finding was how strongly OnlyFans was associated with financial success. Teens repeatedly cited the platform as an easier and more appealing alternative to traditional work or education.

    So, okay. Say you’re a young woman and 20, and you make pretty good money putting on cat ears and licking a microphone or whatever’s presently in vogue compared to most other things you could be doing at that age. But…are you going to be doing that at 30? 40? 50? Are you likely to make enough to retire off that in the time that you’re successfully doing that? Because if you haven’t acquired a skillset in that period for a lifelong career…like, if you forego education for that, that could be a really expensive exchange.

    Now, in fairness, I kind of feel like some similar issues also apply to things like being a professional sports player. Short viable career for most sports, high risk of not being able to make it big enough to retire off earnings. But we also haven’t had a radical recent shift in the pro sports industry.

    I guess maybe pro gamers could be in a similar position. I don’t know how many teens plan to do that (though I haven’t seen a lot of material agonising about the number of teens who want to become pro gamers). I have seen a lot of material concerned about the wildly-beyond-what-can-be-sustained numbers who want to become social media influencers, though.

    EDIT: Regarding influencers:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-media-influencers-86-of-young-americans-want-to-become-one/

    86% of young Americans want to become a social media influencer

    I can’t give you a percentage of society that can be viably dedicated to trying to influence others on social media off the cuff, but I am very confident that it is far, far less than that. If anything remotely approaching that level tries to do the field full time and make major tradeoffs for it, that’s going to potentially be very costly for society.

      • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
        12·
        2 days ago

        I mean, I can imagine a world where there isn’t to being a former erotic actress either. Used to be a stigma attached to being a (non-erotic) actor or actress, whereas today, we have very high-prestige actors.

        But that world still requires people to have a skillset for their working life — like, that’s kinda fundamental.

        • F04118F@feddit.nl
          4·
          2 days ago

          If you are successful as a content creator, whatever the platform, you have great marketing, communications and branding skills. How transferable do you want the skills to be?

          • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
            4·
            2 days ago

            Well, it’s hard to predict societal change, I think. I remember commenting that a lot of past futurism seemed to be a lot more accurate on technological change than it was on social change. Gender roles or clothing predictions aren’t all that great, though what machines are doing can be at least in the ballpark. So I feel kind of on thin ice here.

            But if you look at the article, the stigma doesn’t seem to be showing up with the study participants:

            Others expressed admiration for girls who made money through OnlyFans, seeing them as smart or independent. This normalization of sexualized self-presentation—and the lack of critical reflection on its long-term consequences—worried the researchers, who warned that it reflects a broader cultural shift toward viewing intimacy and the body as tools for profit.

            If you look at what a lot of musicians do today in music videos, I’d say that it’s not terribly far off softcore pornography. I’ve certainly seen softcore pornography in the past that was less-explicit than what a mainstream musician might be doing in music videos in 2025.

            And I think that that’s a shift that’s been happening for a long time. Selling sexuality was part of what Michael Jackson did in the 1990s or Elvis did in the 1960s.

            So my guess is that the trajectory is towards normalization. Can’t say with any certainty that the trajectory will continue, though.