Sex in Cyberspace

Gen Z is, apparently, in the midst of a sex recession. Though they have sex later and less frequently than previous generations, they are not necessarily any less horny. Instead, the new statistics may reflect a shift in Gen Z’s sexual expression, as with many other facets of modern life, into the digital sphere. The rising popularity of platforms like OnlyFans has provided a conduit for many, including college students, to curate and monetize their sexuality.

OnlyFans is a website where independent creators can share content with their subscribers, or “fans,” for a fee set by the creator. Creators can upload any type of media to the site, though OnlyFans is best known for distributing adult content. Creators keep 80% of the profits, and the company collects the remaining 20%. This financial and creative control makes OnlyFans attractive to many, compared with more mainstream social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram.

Sophie Rain, a 22-year-old OnlyFans creator and co-founder of the Bop House (a collective of female TikTokers-turned-OnlyFans stars), claims to have made more than $100 million on the site in three years. Some creators have gained enough traction selling their adult content to fund their college educations. Emily Cocea, a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and current University of Michigan law student, has reported earnings of $1.5 million under her online moniker “hotblockchain.”

Cocea and Rain are outliers in terms of the massive popularity and financial gains they’ve achieved. In reality, only 0.1% of OnlyFans creators generate 76% of the platform’s earnings. Still, their stories are amplified by mainstream media as symbolic of changing sexual mores in the digital era.

In an interview with the “Harvard Independent,” former adult performer Maya Morena noted the unique financial control that sex work can provide. “Sex work was the fastest way I could think of to successfully and quickly be independent from my family. Retail, sales, and fast food restaurants weren’t paying enough,” she said.

Morena immigrated from Honduras as a child and was granted the ability to work in the United States through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Following President Trump’s 2016 election, Morena’s status as a DACA recipient was jeopardized. The consequent culture of hostility toward undocumented immigrants in the workplace made sex work feel more secure to Morena. “I was afraid of losing immigration status because it was constantly under threat by politicians. My thinking was that I could build a consumer base underground, even if I lost my work authorization,” she said.

For many, however, the draw of OnlyFans is not purely financial. Catherine De Noire, manager of a legal brothel in Europe and prospective organizational psychology PhD, explained the role that OnlyFans plays in distributing taboo content that may otherwise be censored. “OnlyFans lets me write about things I can’t write about this openly on mainstream social media, so that’s why I joined,” she said to the “Harvard Independent.”

De Noire’s OnlyFans account functions more as a diary of her experiences working as a brothel manager. She uses the platform as a more direct tool to demystify sex work for a broader audience outside of academia. “Of course, content behind a paywall won’t reach society as a whole. But I think it definitely reaches more people than published academic articles, and it’s far more accessible and readable.”

The freedom to control her schedule and have time to pursue other passions was another draw for Morena: “I had the free time to study what I wanted, join protests, write, and start a local co-op with friends,” she said. This flexibility is not afforded to many young people in the modern workforce, especially as Gen Z scrambles to find even entry-level employment.

Although OnlyFans has the resources to impose security regulations for users and creators, including age-verification measures and content-vetting processes, the platform is not immune to abuse. A public presence online, especially for creators who share other marginalized identities, can pose safety risks even for those in control of the curation of their own image, according to adult creator and director Vanniall.

“It’s often said visibility is a double-edged sword, and that always bears repeating. This past decade has seen incredibly increased visibility for both trans people, sex workers, and honestly women in general,” Vanniall explained. The pervasion of AI content into every corner of the internet has made it harder for anyone posting to control their own likeness. “I think it’s safe to say this has been a mixed bag. Even the average woman now has to fear deepfakes or doxxing in a way that was unthinkable just a short time ago,” she continued. An investigation by Reuters turned up records of child sexual abuse, “revenge porn,” and sex trafficking through OnlyFans between 2019 and 2024.

Politics has undoubtedly shaped the way that many young people view and experience—or choose not to experience—sex. In the aftermath of the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, 27% of Gen Z adults said they were more reluctant to have sex. Gen Z has grown up with nearly unmitigated access to porn and digital discourse surrounding sexuality; it is also more openly queer and more likely to engage in kink behaviors than young adults of generations past. Some attribute this willingness to broaden sexual norms to a greater awareness of the politics that are tied up in sexuality.

Expanded notions of sex beyond the penetrative penis-in-vagina act point to Gen Zers’ interest in exploring different styles of intimacy. The trend toward young people subscribing to OnlyFans accounts may partially be explained by the cultural normalization of digital sexual expression, De Noire said. “Surprisingly, many [OnlyFans users], at least among my subscribers, aren’t looking only for erotic content, but mainly for someone to write to and share things with,” she explained. “Sometimes it’s almost a kind of online therapy. They find it easier to open up to a stranger on the internet than to their friends, because they’re afraid of looking weak in front of them.”

The “Harvard Independent” publishes the results of its own Sex Survey each year, measuring changing sexual attitudes among Harvard students over time. The 2026 survey reflected that of 2025, indicating students’ sexual behaviors trending toward abstinence. This aligns with generational patterns; however, it does not indicate sexual ambivalence: according to this year’s survey, 73% of Harvard students report regularly watching porn. As more young people vie for control of their sexual expression and image, platforms like OnlyFans appeal to Gen Z’s inclination toward curiosity.

Sadie Gugliotta ’30 (sadie_gugliotta@college.harvard.edu) is comping the “Harvard Independent.”