A Brief Summary of a Diploma Thesis: The Digitalization of Sex Work

Research Summary

Živa Gornik's 2022 diploma thesis, titled 'The Digitalization of Sex Work: The Case of OnlyFans,' analyzes how digital platforms are changing sex work and the conditions in which sex workers operate. The author clearly distinguishes between the digitalization of sex work (the migration of existing forms of work online) and digital sex work as a new form of work that exists exclusively in the digital environment.

The core of the research is an empirical field study conducted among 26 female students of the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana who are active on the OnlyFans platform. The research shows that the main motives for entering digital sex work are financial insecurity, the need for flexible work, and the consequences of the pandemic, as well as a more liberal attitude of young people towards sexuality.

The findings debunk the myth of quick and easy money: average monthly incomes are low relative to the time invested, and success is highly dependent on a constant presence on social media, self-promotion, and managing one's own digital identity. The work also highlights the persistent stigmatization of sex work, which often forces participants to live double lives and unable to publicly acknowledge their experiences, despite acquiring significant digital, entrepreneurial, and communication skills.

The thesis makes a significant contribution to the understanding of student sex work, the digital economy, and modern forms of precarious work, while also opening up space for further research and social dialogue on the regulation, safety, and recognition of this field.

🔗 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=141407

How Something Small Grows into Something Big 🌱

We are delighted that this then-budding researcher and volunteer chose the path of in-depth, critical, and courageous research into the adult industry — without moralizing, with empirical precision, and with respect for her interviewees.

Bravo, Živa. This is research that has weight, impact, and a future.