OnlyFans. The term brings up many different emotions for most people. Some people have no clue what it is, and some know it all too well. Some people hate it and everything it stands for, while others think it is a great way to free yourself. Even with so much controversy surrounding it, it’s a thing that now boasts 170 million registered subscribers, and something millions more have used since its start in November 2016.
OnlyFans is a platform for sharing exclusive content, much like Cameo or Patreon. Rather than being mostly for famous or well-known people to connect with existing fans, however, OnlyFans allows regular people to charge for the content they post. But with so many sites like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter allowing people to see and share content for free, there really isn’t a lot people are willing to pay for. What makes OnlyFans unique is its very loose community rules and approach to censorship, which makes it easy to share what many would consider pornography. As such, OnlyFans is widely considered to be a porn site.
Many people have created OnlyFans accounts and have made a pretty decent amount of money from it, like NMSU student Angeleesa Aragon. Aragon is a sophomore majoring in microbiology and has been a creator on OnlyFans since January 2021. Aragon said that she originally started creating content when her dad died and she started struggling to pay for school.
Aragon said that if she posts consistently, she can make up to $3,500 a month. “Having an OnlyFans is super helpful. The pay is good, and it’s super easy to make money. However, I often get misunderstood and judged for having one,” Aragon said.
She said she has gotten called an “attention whore” among other things, but said she is “unbothered because of my income.” Aragon said that people’s reactions aren’t all bad, and that she usually gets more support than hate.
Aragon said OnlyFans pays for most of her bills, but she has a job as a server as well to help. Overall, she said making content is easy, and that is part of the reason why she still does it. “The hardest part about OnlyFans was starting it out and wondering what others may think, but the longer I’ve done it and the more money I make, the less I care about other opinions about it,” Aragon said.
Not everyone has had the same experience. Another student said it was “slightly depressing” when she did it. She asked to go by initials rather than her full name. D.R. is a senior majoring in kinesiology. She no longer has an OnlyFans account, but had one from March to November 2021.
D.R. said she made around $4,500 a month, not counting one man who often paid her much more, and mostly used it to pay medical bills and other expenses. D.R. said it wasn’t hard to make content and that she made most of her money making content for specific men and receiving large tips from them. “If the guys wanted private content, it took more time because they’ll tell you what they wanted. But making content in general [and] posting the link was easy,” D.R. said.
“The hardest part about OnlyFans was starting it out and wondering what others may think, but the longer I’ve done it and the more money I make, the less I care about other opinions about it.”
One of the hardest things D.R. said was people demanding meetups or becoming aggressive and calling her names if she didn’t respond to their messages right away. “I did no meetups and I just kept telling them it’s online only, online only, and they, you know, kept demanding.”
“OnlyFans is not for everyone,” D.R. said. “Just because you have a nice body does not mean you need to get OnlyFans, even if people around you are saying … get only fans; you’re missing out on money.”
On a smaller scale, a third NMSU student — a senior majoring in communication disorders — who also did not want her name mentioned (but will go by R.A.), said she has been sharing content on OnlyFans for a little over a year and makes $100-250 a month. R.A. said she has bought a few plane tickets and has been able to save up a rainy-day fund with the money she’s earned.
Similar to D.R.’s problem with subscribers trying to demand meetups, R.A. said, “it gets annoying, honestly. People try to get free content all the time.” R.A. said she doesn’t get too many rude people, though, or people trying to take advantage of her. “I’ve always been very clear on my boundaries and that I am more than [an object],” R.A. said.
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