Digital prostitution: Recession puts price on sex lives of youngsters in Argentina

Following last month’s triple murder in Florencio Varela, beyond highlighting the rise of drug-trafficking and the persistence of gender-based violence in Argentina, another issue has come to light: the growth of prostitution and other erotic services facilitated by apps.

Lara, one of the victims, just 15 years old, previously defended herself in a TV interview against complaints from neighbours in Flores, saying she didn’t work on the streets, but instead arranged meetings with her clients “through a page, which I’m not going to name.”

These “pages” are platforms like OnlyFans, Fansly and others. While young men in working-class neighbourhoods are drawn into drug-dealing, for many working-class young women, selling erotic content – and in some cases, offering sexual services – via these platforms is increasingly seen as a viable option.

The trend is global. OnlyFans has established itself as one of the most popular platforms in the world, with over 4.6 million content creators and more than 300 million users.

The model works like any on-demand service: content (videos, photos) is uploaded, sold to customers and payments are collected. The platform takes a 20 percent commission and the creator receives the remaining 80 percent.

Additionally, these platforms can offer interactive experiences. There are video calls where clients ask “content creators” to fulfil their fantasies while they masturbate.

Earnings for Argentine women using these apps vary greatly. Some reports suggest an average of around US$180 per month. Income depends on promotion, consistency and quantity of subscribers.

In an interview with Perfil, one 34-year-old woman who identifies as a “digital sex worker” explained: “I can make just over US$200 a week. But some girls go much further – some have bought homes or cars. I know girls making US$5,000 or US$6,000 a week, though that’s rare. It all depends on the app’s algorithm. Sometimes it favours you and you take off, other times it doesn’t help at all. Some girls have a golden algorithm.”

Although some users claim they do it by choice rather than out of financial need, overall trends show usage of these apps increases as living standards fall.

Between 2019 and 2021, the number of OnlyFans creators jumped from 450,000 to 1.5 million — a rise of over 300 percent over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. British newspaper The Guardian links this boom to job losses caused by lockdown-related economic downturns.

Impact on relationships

As digital erotic content consumption rises, young people’s real-life sex lives are on the decline – a trend documented in multiple countries, including Argentina.

Jean Twenge, a psychologist from San Diego University, reports that one in four US citizens aged 18 to 29 didn’t have sex in the past year. In France, 25 percent of young people of the same age range also reported no sexual activity in the past 12 months.

The British Medical Journal notes that only four in ten Britons aged 16 to 44 have sex weekly. In Japan, 43 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds are virgins. 

In Argentina, sexologist Cecilia Ce says there is “less sex and more loneliness” in recent times. These shifts are explained by factors like difficulty becoming financially independent, longer working hours and rising stress, she explained.

A lack of economic independence affects self-esteem and social skills – particularly in the app’s main user base: young men seeking digital emotional companionship. Some have noted that the demand comes from young men who prefer screen-mediated interactions that are controlled and free from the risk of rejection.

Experts also suggest that the digitisation of human relationships is making it harder for young people to develop the social skills needed to form in-person romantic or sexual partnerships.

At the same time, facing severe financial pressure, some users move from digital content creation to in-person sex work.

In Argentina, psychologist Mónica Santino warns that “the line between digital erotica and outright prostitution gets blurry when economic hardship sets in.” Some young women who start out as content creators end up forming dependent relationships with clients, she warned.

Girls selling erotic content or video calls have a term for clients who try to coerce them into meeting in person by offering large sums of money: whales. The term is borrowed from the financial world and refers to big spenders — clients with deep pockets.

At its core, the crisis is putting a price tag on the sexuality of thousands of young people. From digital platforms to plain and simple prostitution – as always, the most vulnerable women are the ones put at risk.There are thousands of young people on these platforms, and they have no form of protection.

Meanwhile, the recession and changes in communication technologies continue to swell the ranks of both “content creators” and consumers of digital prostitution.