OnlyFans was recently called “the hottest social media platform in the world”, according to the Financial Times. The newspaper reports that OnlyFans revenue has grown by 553% in the year to November 2020, and users have spent £1.7 billion on the site.
Issues such as those under the age of 18 who used fake IDs to set up accounts, children being “sexually exploited” on OnlyFans, children being threatened with blackmail,or spreading indecent images, etc. are gradually becoming more serious than ever.
Then why are more and more children selling explicit videos on OnlyFans? And will your underage child join these “content creators”?
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is an online platform and application created in 2016 where anyone can pay for content (photos and videos, direct links) through a monthly membership.
There is a wide range of content on OnlyFans but the best known is pornography and requires users to be over 18 years old. However, people under the age of 18 are selling pornographic videos on the site even though it is illegal for individuals to post or share indecent images of children.
OnlyFans made a lot of money during the COVID-19 epidemic, which exploded in popularity as most people around the world stayed home. OnlyFans has grown almost 10 times since 2019 and now has more than 120 million users.
UK-based OnlyFans is an increasingly popular platform for those unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s also popular among sex workers.
More and more children selling explicit videos on OnlyFans
Story #1: Starting from feet pictures
Karina, 17, used a fake driver’s license to join OnlyFans and sell porn videos. It all started when she originally planned to only post pictures of her feet after making money selling them on Snapchat. But this quickly evolved into pornographic videos of Karina masturbating and playing with sex toys. Some comments even asked her to post pictures of her “sensitive part” and make an appointment to meet her outside.
Selling pornographic videos on OnlyFans brings Karina up to £5,000 and she spends most of this money on boyfriends and designer clothes.
The girl’s mother, like every other parent, is shocked to see why people are paying so much for this. Besides, Karina had many problems with not being able to study much.
The problem is that although OnlyFans has closed Karina’s page and she no longer posts on OnlyFans, pictures from her account have been leaked all over the internet not to mention nude photos of her have been shared throughout the school without her consent. Since then, Karina has always been in a state of insecurity and does not want to leave the house for fear of being recognized by others, once again, her plans to enter university have been delayed.
Story #2: Underage children appear in pornographic videos on accounts run by adults
Another story shows kid use OnlyFans is David. David was 16 years old when he started making videos on OnlyFans with his girlfriend in Nevada, USA. David then did not have an account of his own but was instead “engrossed” in appearing in pornographic videos posted by David’s girlfriend, 2 years older than the boy.
David earns a staggering $5,000 just having sex on camera for others to see filmed in one of their bedrooms. The boy also thinks that with just such simple things, it is easy to earn a lot of money a week but does not need to work.
Story #3: Risk of missing children related to OnlyFans
While OnlyFans is only open to people over the age of 18, OnlyFans’ use of passports and adult bank accounts, as well as OnlyFans’ lax underage deterrent, make it easy for more and more children to sign up for an account.
A 17-year-old South Wales girl has complained to police that she was blackmailed for continuing to post nude photos on OnlyFans or nude photos from the website to be shared with her family. The three children also claim that their pictures were uploaded to OnlyFans without consent, including a 17-year-old man who said his face was edited on someone else’s body.
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The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), known as a global agency for reports on child sexual exploitation, says that cases of missing children are increasingly linked to associated with OnlyFans videos. Typically in 2019, there were about 10 children known to have gone missing linked to content on OnlyFans. Last year, that number of cases nearly tripled.
A Florida couple in their 20s were charged with human trafficking after allegedly selling a topless photo of a 16-year-old girl on OnlyFans.
Ways to protect your kids from OnlyFans
According to a recent sex report “Look At Me – Teens, Sexting, and Risks,” girls between the ages of 14 and 15 are twice as likely to submit a pornographic image. Therefore, it is important for parents to:
- Have an EARLIER frank conversation with your child about taking pictures, sharing pornography and its consequences. Don’t forget to show your kids why OnlyFans is dangerous.
For example, you could teach them that what you send or post will stay forever on the Internet and you have a very high risk of online sexual assault, falling prey to sexual predators, extortion, or even criminal behavior.
- Install a content filtering tool on their computer:
To ensure your child’s online environment is safe and healthier, you should consider using an additional online content filtering tool – considered by many parents as one of the best free parental control software to hide 15 types of harmful content on the Internet, including:
- Pornography
- Horrifying content like gore, accidents, ghosts, violence, murder, terrorism, etc
- Content about stimulants, addictive substances such as alcohol, beer, marijuana, drugs, etc
- Content with aggressive elements, hurting others like Hate speech
This free porn blocker extension can help to minimize your child’s access to harmful content, ensuring a healthy online environment for your child but at the same time, not invading their privacy rights.
- Familiarize yourself and experience with social media: Don’t be passive, actively update and learn the platforms that are popular with young people. Don’t assume your kids won’t visit sites like OnlyFans. Risks lure children everywhere.
- Wise modern parents are always proactive in bringing the best for their children. To better protect your child from all porn sites, for all internet-connected devices your child use, you should pre-order Wifi Device, becoming the first parents to own the solution which 24/7 protects your kids from harmful websites. Best prices are always available for early birds!
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