It’s clear that the rise of the internet has had a profound impact on all our lives. But are we quite aware of the impact that it’s having on our young men; sons, brothers, partners? Conversations with young men on taboo and stigmatised topics like misogyny, homophobia, consent and masculinity have meant that social media content is shaping the view of our young men with little challenge. “Social media has become a key space where boys and young men learn what it means to ‘be a man’—and that can both support and harm their health,” says Dr. Jason Nagata (Forbes, 2026).
A Movember report (Fisher, Rice & Seidler, 2025), with 3,000 participants of men aged 16-25 across the UK, USA and Australia found that 62% of young men engaging with masculinity influencers believe men should solve their own problems. Which again, dives deep into the already present stereotypes of men and their attitudes to seeking support. 75% think men should be stoic and ‘control their emotions’, and we must emphasise the word ‘control’, as this approach is not about healthy management or regulation, but to have strict parameters on emotional expression.
It would be extremely difficult to write a blog on such topic and not mention the media focus and danger of the ‘manosphere’, led by ‘influencers’ like Andrew Tate. To break it down, essentially they are spreading hyper-masculine or toxic-masculine narratives, some of which in moderation could be beneficial to young boys (accountability, physical health, resilience), but it is spread through grind culture (you must always been doing something to better yourself) misogyny, homophobia, exploitation through degradation and in some cases, violence against women and girls. This ‘masculinity content’ has been shown to have a negative influence on boys and young men’s perception of girl students and female teachers (Weale, 2023; Roberts & Wescott, 2024).
So, where do young men turn to? What do they do? Well there is certainly a huge need and appetite for healthy masculinity to be displayed on social media. Men crying, men sharing their truth, men encouraging healthy, active lifestyles, men connecting with one-another on levels way deeper than the surface conversations. Want to know where to look, there is a list of some Instagrams of them here:
Ben West, mental health and suicide prevention campaigner. @iambenwest
Jordan Stephens, one half of Rizzle Kicks. @jordanfstephens
David Chambers, dating and relationships coach. @theauthenticman_
Joe Wicks, fitness and lifestyle influencer. @thebodycoach
TJ Power, neuroscientist and behaviour. @tjpower
References:
Forbes (2026) Misogyny Or Mentorship? New Study On Social Media Reshaping Young Men. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/darylaustin/2026/05/06/misogyny-or-mentorship-new-study-on-social-media-reshaping-young-men/
Fisher, Rice & Seidler (2025) Young men’s health in a digital world. Melbourne, Australia. Movember Institute of Men’s Health.
Parks, G., Russo, D., & Simon, J. (2021). New media masculinities: how YouTube influencers incubate masculine ideologies and mentor males through gender role conflict/stress.
Roberts, S. & Wescott, S. (2024) To quell the problem, we must name the problem: the role of social media ‘manfluencers’ in boys’ sexist behaviours in school settings, Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 41(2): 125-128.
Weale, S (2023) ‘We See Misogyny Every Day’: How Tate’s Twisted Ideology Infiltrated British Schools.’ The Guardian, 2 February, 2023. Retrieved from: https:// www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/02/andrewtate-twisted-ideology-infiltrated-british-schools (Last accessed 16/08/2024).