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A startling trend sweeping college campuses across the country is causing concern as students turn to untraditional ways to turn quick cash while in school.
Shayna Loren, 21, is in her senior year as an advertising major at Boston University. When she was 18, Loren approached her parents with a business proposal – she wanted to start posting content on OnlyFans.
OnlyFans – a website that allows adults to produce and monetize sexually explicit content – has become increasingly popular for college students looking to make a quick buck to cover tuition costs.
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Shayna Loren, 21, is in her senior year as an advertising major at Boston University and a prominent creator on OnlyFans. (Shayna Loren)
“I was very curious how someone like me could apply marketing skills I already had through a completely different business, and apply it to photos of myself,” Loren told Fox News Digital. “I talked to my parents, wrote up a business plan and was like, ‘Hear me out, I know this is crazy, but just give this a chance.’”
Loren’s parents agreed to what she viewed as a “research project,” and she began posting.
“I blew up,” Loren said. “And I haven’t stopped since.”
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Students turning to OnlyFans has infiltrated even the highest-ranking universities across the country as rising tuition costs plague students seeking out college degrees. (Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Three years later, Loren has leaned into her status as a student, looking to market herself to viewers wanting to consume explicit content specifically from the college category.
“Pretty much everyone relates to having a crush, whether they were in high school or college, and being able to look across the classroom and see them,” Loren said. “And so for me, I just pushed that fantasy by showing it on social media – that I am that college dream girl.”
The soon-to-be college graduate has cemented herself as a popular creator on the platform, boasting over 700,000 followers just on Instagram. Loren was able to use the money she made from posting content to cover the cost of her college tuition and help her parents retire – solidifying an attractive sales pitch to fellow students looking to do the same.
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The cost of a college education has reportedly more than doubled in the 21st century, with student loan interest rates forcing students to pay as much as $500,000 for a bachelor’s degree. (iStock)
In 2025, the average cost of college in the United States is roughly $38,270 a year, according to the Education Data Initiative. The cost has reportedly more than doubled in the 21st century, with student loan interest rates forcing students to pay as much as $500,000 for a bachelor’s degree.
However, experts warn the temptation of making fast cash comes with significant safety risks for college students surrounding posting explicit content online, especially if they reveal personal details about themselves to their subscribers.
“They are putting themselves in danger because some men start to believe that the girl is putting on this act for them personally,” Dr. Carole Lieberman, a forensic psychiatrist, told Fox News Digital.
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Experts warn the temptation of making fast cash comes with significant safety risks for college students surrounding posting explicit content online. (iStock)
“[Their viewers] believe that they are the ‘Only Fan’ who she really cares about, even loves, and that she wants to have sex with them. They develop a fixation on the girl and want to find her in real life to ‘consummate’ the relationship.”
OnlyFans did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Members of law enforcement have also voiced their concerns regarding the potential for stalkers seeking out young girls posting to the platform who may be more focused on the funds over their own security.
“Today’s youth is living in two worlds, the cyber world and the real one,” Bill Stanton, retired NYPD officer and author of the book “Prepared, Not Scared,” told Fox News Digital. “What I see happening is that for some those lines become blurred, sometimes with dire outcomes. Creating a fantasy for those paying into an OnlyFans account may not be enough for some wanting to take a perceived online relationship into the real world.”
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The risk of online interactions spilling into real-life threats for OnlyFans creators is nothing new for Rock Jacobs, director of a documentary series about the online platform infiltrating college campuses called “Lonely Fans,” who recalled a disturbing secondhand account he was told while filming.
“There’s one guy that literally drove five hours to a girl’s house,” Jacobs told Fox News Digital. “[He] broke into her house and was living in her attic.”
“The stalkers can be digital, but it can actually turn physical and real – and in some cases, it can get violent.”
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Jacobs also pointed to another woman’s testimonial featured in the documentary.
“She’s done really well [and] she’s made over a couple million dollars,” Jacobs said. “She’s been able to change her entire life and set herself up. But she admitted that every night when she goes to sleep, she feels like someone’s going to break into her house and murder her. She said she’s come to terms that she’s not going to have a peaceful death.”
The startling reality is not lost on Loren, who is careful not to walk alone on campus at night and insists she keeps her personal safety top-of-mind while creating content on OnlyFans. However, she believes that the risk of stalkers may be more prevalent among smaller creators who monetize the illusion of a personal relationship with their subscribers – and are often everyday students looking to have an extra stream of income while studying.
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“Once you reach a certain level, people realize that this is a job, and there is more of a boundary between work and their personal life,” Loren told Fox News Digital.
Loren insists that less prominent creators looking to earn more money by blurring the line between professional and personal could ultimately put them at risk, marking a stark warning for parents who may have children considering the side hustle.
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“Some of the smaller creators that I’ve met will try to push the relationship in almost like a digital girlfriend kind of way,” Loren said.
“And that’s where the lines can get blurry with girls who have less of a following and less subscribers, because they want to milk it for all it’s worth. They want the most money, and so they want guys to be in love with them. And that’s where it starts to get scary, and people can become very attached.”
