You have full access to this open access article. OnlyFans is a social media platform that allows individuals to sell subscription access to content and interact with subscribers. While open to all forms of creators, OnlyFans has become synonymous with pornographic and erotic content, particularly during its growth over the Covid pandemic.
Models on OnlyFans are paid by fans to provide an experience which is tailored to the fantasy of the fan. This study employed a qualitative reflexive thematic analysis to examine the complexities of creator-fan interactions, the challenges faced by models, and their strategies in managing those interactions.
Seven Ireland-based OnlyFans models Findings identified four key challenge domains: boundaries, exposure, impression management, and interaction. Models strategised in a number of ways, such as clarifying boundaries, protecting identities, managing impressions, and confining fan interactions to the platform itself.
However, the ambiguous nature of the roles in this fan-model dynamic, often culminated in blurred lines between fantasy and reality, leading to boundary violations and problematic fan-model relationships. This dynamic has striking parallels with the challenges experienced between influencers and celebrities with their fans, emphasizing the universal nature of this digital interaction phenomenon.
The findings bear significant implications for a broad range of individuals, including potential and active OnlyFans models, celebrities and influencers navigating fandoms, researchers exploring online interactions, and mental health professionals assisting clients in these contexts. OnlyFans is a content sharing site where subscribers pay creators a fee to view a feed of images and video content. OnlyFans became popular among many content creators ranging from musicians to fitness personalities, as it allows individuals to cut out middlemen, providing a platform to sell content straight to the consumer Pryce, While the platform has been open to most forms of digital media, a significant proportion of revenue generating content is often erotic and pornographic in nature.
