A new survey is a wakeup call for parents who believe their teen would never exchange sexually explicit imagery of themselves for money or other valuable items like gift cards, clothing, gaming currency, and social media followers and likes.
The survey, conducted in fall 2024, found that 1 in 7 young people participated in a "commodified sexual interaction" at least one time before they turned 18.
Thorn, a nonprofit organization that builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse, surveyed 1,200 teens and young adults. One in four teens said they were sexually solicited online for money, gifts, or social opportunities. The respondents who received solicitations got them from both minors and adults, as well as from strangers and known contacts, offline and online.
The findings illustrate the surprising prevalence of commodified sexual interactions. And while it's not news that teens actually receive solicitations online, anecdotal evidence suggests that they are being offered social media perks such as likes and followers in return for complying, according to Thorn's research.
Melissa Stroebel, Thorn's vice president of research and insights, says that it can be less clear that an exploitative transaction is occurring when the offer is something of value other than money.
The dynamic also indicates that the marketplace for child sexual abuse material, in which explicit imagery is bought, sold, and traded, is becoming responsive to young people's interest in building an online following.
Though parents have to manage an ever-growing list of online threats to discuss with their children, Stroebel says there are ways to talk about commodified sexual interactions in order to emphasize that teens' bodies "are private and they are personal, and they are not commodity to be traded, for money or for likes, or anything else, whether that is with another minor or with somebody they haven't met, online."
Here's what Stroebel says parents should know:
1. This overlaps with other risky situations and behaviors.
Some parents may understandably assume that their child will never receive or comply with a request for an explicit image in exchange for something of value. But Stroebel says young people need to know their parents can and will help them with this and other difficult challenges they'll encounter online.
When parents have already talked to their teen about sending or receiving nude images, or the threat of sextortion, they can draw on previous discussions related to consent, healthy relationships, and personal agency to talk about commodified sexual interactions.
Stroebel says that teens may resist conversations that pivot around specific examples. Instead, Stroebel recommends speaking plainly about the risks, and being curious, candid, and supportive.
Parents can also give particular attention to how their teen reacts to online celebrity and whether they understand what influencers are willing to trade for popularity. Parents may be surprised to learn about young adult influencers who embrace selling imagery of themselves to online buyers as an act of empowerment or autonomy.
2. Some solicitations are coming from minors.
Thorn's research shows that, of the minors who previously engaged in commodified sexual interactions, 65 percent and 42 percent of them believed the age of the buyer to be an adult or another minor, respectively. Nine percent were unsure of the age. (Respondents could choose multiple answers.)
While 59 percent of respondents knew the buyer exclusively online, 40 percent said that they knew the buyer offline.
In other words, it's much more complicated for parents than just warning their teens to stay away from strangers online who ask them for imagery. Instead, they'll need to help their teen understand that anyone, including minors they know from school, might make this request.
3. Teens can get hurt quickly.
Stroebel says that teens are in a developmental stage where they often feel invincible and are more prone to risk taking. This combination might work against parents who try to raise the topic of commodified sexual interactions. Teens may not grasp the danger of sending imagery. They might even think their parent is being over protective.
But the risk is real, Stroebel says. What begins as an exchange for material that's rewarded with money, goods, or social opportunities can quickly turn into ongoing abuse and sextortion.
When a teen waves away a parent's concerns and shuts down the conversation, Stroebel says that it can be helpful to try a different approach, like waiting for another opportunity, rather than trying to force the issue.
"You just have to keep coming back," Stroebel says.
If you are a child being sexually exploited online, or you know a child who is being sexually exploited online, or you witnessed exploitation of a child occur online, you can report it to the CyberTipline, which is operated by the National Center for Missing Exploited & Children.
