OnlyFans: from Likes and Follows to Trafficking and Exploitation

Ever heard of Only Fans? It’s an online platform where content creators get paid directly by their followers, a.k.a. fans, for the photos and videos they share. But the site is rife with porn and exploitation. And worse, it’s targeting young women in droves with promises of turning likes and follows into instafame and fortune.

In this episode, I speak with Meghan Donevan, research director at Talita, a Swedish organization offering exit programs to trafficked and prostituted women. Together, we discuss the inherent problems with platforms such as OnlyFans and its impact on both individuals and society. Plus, strategies parents can use to talk to their kids about sexual exploitation and how to safeguard them against traps like OnlyFans. 

From Instagram to OnlyFans

Meghan’s research is focused on the link between pornography and prostitution. As such, she can see the tell-tale signs of exploitation that many young people are missing. The truth is, OnlyFans is set up, not to empower content creators, but to facilitate recruitment and control. 

In this episode:

• Likes, clicks, and followers. How the digitized age facilitates (and normalizes!) recruitment tactics and has increased the trafficking of our youth.

• Quick cash or pyramid scheme. How Only Fans differs from other social media platforms and why it’s mostly pornography and prostitution. 

• But it’s my body! Examining the relationship between female empowerment, deception, and male demand. 

• Most at risk. How to talk openly with our kids about Only Fans and other forms of exploitation. 

Episode challenge

Take some time this week to do a mapping exercise of your community. Find out what youth services, child services, organizations, hotlines, or anonymous chat lines are available in your area. Next, sit down with your child and talk about these services. Make sure they know that they exist. This could be a lifeline to them or a close friend. Have this chat in conjunction with our 5 Body Safety Tips for Kids (see below).

Download our FREE guide

Want some extra help starting the conversation about body safety? Download our FREE Guide, 5 Body Safety Tips for Kids, in this week’s show notes. Click here. http://bit.ly/Body-Safety-Tips

Teaching children the basics of body safety can help them identify risky situations and safeguard them from sexual exploitation. Start this valuable conversation today with our 5 Body Safety Tips for Kids guide. Download your FREE printable here.

Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the show, please leave a positive review or tell a friend!

More about today’s guest

Meghan Donevan is a Canadian-Swede with close to 10 years experience working directly with survivors of sexualized exploitation. Currently, she is the research director at Talita, an organization offering a holistic exit program to women sexually exploited in prostitution, pornography, and human trafficking. Meghan has published peer-reviewed research on pornography’s impact on young people and recently conducted an exploratory study of the Swedish pornography industry. She is also the initiator of Reality Check, an educational curriculum addressing the harms of pornography. Reality Check’s resource “10 myths about porn” has been translated into 9 languages and distributed throughout Sweden and internationally. 

Links/Resources

GUIDE: 10 Myths about Porn, by Talita

RESEARCH RAPPORT: Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Insights into the Swedish Pornography Industry, by Meghan Donevan 

ARTICLE: How OnlyFans Changed Sex Work Forever, New York Times

FORTIFY – Is your teen struggling with pornography? Click here to check out Fortify – FREE for youth!

BARK – Want help monitoring your kids’ apps and social media? Click here for a FREE 30-day trial of the Bark App or download it at the app store and use our promo code: MEDIASAVVY

COVENANT EYES – Need great filtering software for your internet and devices? Click here to check out Covenant Eyes.

*Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means, at no additional cost to you, Parents Aware/Media Savvy Moms receives a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thanks for helping to support us in our mission to protect families from the harms of pornography.

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Media Savvy Moms Podcast

Who knew honest conversations about parenting and pornography could be so approachable? Join Marilyn for a series of contemplations, chats, and interviews as she helps fellow parents tackle this challenging topic with their kids.

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