Bella Thorne, OnlyFans and the battle over monetising content
For years, I was profoundly puzzled by people that are willing to give hundreds -- if not thousands -- of dollars to (mostly women) they&#x27;ll never meet for what&#x27;s basically freely available offline. I saw a very interesting mini-documentary on YouTube[0] not too long ago that kind of opened my eyes. The idea here is that places like Onlyfans, and to a lesser extent Twitch, monetize loneliness via parasocial relationships[1]. This is <i>fundamentally</i> different than being a fan of, say, an actress like Emma Stone, or an athlete like LeBron James.<p>Viewers (the subject) actually <i>believe</i> they have a relationship with the object (be they a pro gamer or scantily-clad model). To most well-adjusted folks with a healthy social circle, this seems kind of nuts, but parasocial relationships have a long and sordid history -- starting with the invention of the &quot;fireside chat&quot; on radio. Loneliness is a powerful motivator and the psychology here is profoundly interesting. At the end of the day, I&#x27;d say places like Onlyfans end up being net negatives for both the models as well as the fans. It&#x27;s a bit sick that the internet -- the very thing which was supposed to bring people <i>together</i> -- ends up cannibalizing its own.<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=djMojvschs0" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=djMojvschs0</a><p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.oxfordreference.com&#x2F;view&#x2F;10.1093&#x2F;oi&#x2F;authority.20110803100305809" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.oxfordreference.com&#x2F;view&#x2F;10.1093&#x2F;oi&#x2F;authority.20...</a>