OnlyFans has become the get-rich-quick scheme for Generation Z, but one creator has shattered the illusion by revealing she’s “broke”.
The subscription website has taken off and there are plenty of X-rated creators who have made millions from selling explicit content online, with some even becoming celebrities because of it.
Australia’s best example is Anna Paul, 25. She documents her daily luxury life on TikTok and has become such a mainstream celebrity that she was recently mobbed by young fans at the mall.
Countless other creators have become social media stars known for sharing sexy photos and videos and giving their followers a glimpse into what it is like to live their lavish lifestyles.
The phenomenon has disrupted the porn world and modern society.
“Is my partner using OnlyFans a form of cheating?”, is a question constantly asked anonymously in women’s Facebook groups.
OnlyFans isn’t treated like a taboo secret in people’s internet search history. It is mainstream, and young women look up to the X-rated creators and some think it is a way they could become wealthy too.
Sarah, 25, started an OnlyFans account because it seemed like a straightforward way to make a lot of money.
“I initially got into spicy work because I wanted to make lots of money and thought it was going to be an easy job,” she said.
She figured she would do it for a few years and it would give her enough money to leave the industry and set up her own business.
You can’t blame her. She’s living in a world where she’s constantly hearing about the crazy amounts people make each month from running a successful OnlyFans account.
The reality has been completely different from what she expected. Instead of glitz and glamour, she’s been barely scraping by.
In a recent TikTok, she shared that felt that she was “failing” in life and not making enough money.
“I’m completely broke. I lost my house and yeah, I’m just kind of failing at life at the moment,” she said.
Sarah said the reality was enough to make her want to give up on her X-rated career and go back to working 9-5.
“I feel like I’ve lost everything to do this job. I’ve lost friends, I’ve lost family members and I’ve made myself financially cooked.”
It is a pretty unreliable way to live if you’re not making six figures from OnlyFans. Your wage would be constantly chopping and changing based on subscribers and creators are also in charge of sorting out their own taxes.
Sarah isn’t getting rich off it, but she’s very dedicated to the platform.
She said she “loves” creating OnlyFans content because it combines photography and creativity but hasn’t made her rich or financially secure.
Even though Sarah isn’t succeeding in the industry, she doesn’t blame it.
“This is my fault. I made the decision to do this. It is not the industry’s fault,” she said.
She said there’s an automatic assumption from her peers and strangers on the internet that because she makes X-rated content, she must be wealthy.
“The general societal opinion seems to be that porn is easy money, but anyone who has spent substantial time in this line of work understands the oversaturation in the market and the amount of work required to maintain a fan base,” she told news.com.au.
Despite not making a lot of money, she enjoys the creative control that comes with her job.
“Having full creative control of every aspect of my social media presence as well as my photography is not only an act of empowerment but an act of protest against the cultural conditioning of shame and guilt around sexual expression,” she explained.
“Doing OnlyFans opened the door for me to become more confident in myself and my artistic ability. This job has inspired me to pursue both modelling and photography.”
