00:00When I was around 17 was kind of the decision maker if I was going to step into that side of social media and the side of everything.
00:10Bops, mattress actresses or spicy content creators, welcome to the digital age of sex work.
00:20Where a new generation of young people, including Tahalia Rowe, are seeing the industry in a different light.
00:28At 18, she joined OnlyFans to make money from her sexualized content.
00:36Like most others on the site, what Tahalia shares is explicit and it's cross promoted to her 84,000 fans on TikTok.
00:46I think I was very influenced by a lot of other creators that were already doing it.
00:53The price tag didn't really matter to me. I kind of just wanted to be seen.
00:59With over 2 million followers online, Kayla Jade is one of Australia's most successful sexfluencers.
01:07She turned to sex work when she was 27 and is open about the downsides.
01:13Whether it's like judgement, relationships, career wise, you know, there's always something.
01:19Most of Kayla's followers are young women and girls, seeing her videos pop up on their social media feeds.
01:27To protect those young fans, Kayla no longer counts and shares the thousands of dollars that she can make in a single night.
01:36I was worried that a younger audience would see that and not necessarily know what I had to do to get that money.
01:42They would just think, oh, she makes so much money on OnlyFans or so much money as a sex worker, I should do that too.
01:48So, yeah, I just, I just felt a bit icky about it.
01:52That influence is something Tahalia Rowe remembers well when she got her first social media account at 10.
01:59Online sex work has helped her with her mental health and confidence, but she's seen others severely impacted by it.
02:07Please make sure you're mentally prepared for it because any backlash you get will affect your mental health.
02:14It's yet to be seen the impact the federal government's social media ban for under 16s will have on curbing potentially harmful content online.
02:24But for even 16 and 17 year olds who are engrossed in the online world, detangling the lure of the sexfluencer isn't straightforward.
02:34When we see really lavish lifestyles, you know, there's that comparison that the viewer has to, you know, the life that they live.
02:41A lot of it can come, there can be thoughts of like discontent in their own lives, right?
02:46Kayla credits the work for giving her financial security and time with her children.
02:54But she's also quick to draw a line when it comes to protecting kids like her own online.
03:01Even though a lot of people aren't for it, like I'm all for the social media ban for young people.
03:07I think it's going to make their brains a lot more healthier.
03:10Safeguarding future harms in an online world.
03:14worldwide.
03:15koop. AFEG
03:32Oh, yeah.
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