SPEND any time online lately and you’ll notice discussions about the “manosphere”, and about how young men are forming their views on women and masculinity.
The manosphere describes online spaces shaped by popular influencers, where advice on dating, money, and status often coincide with hardline views about women and what “real men” should be like.
British filmmaker Louis Theroux’s recent documentary, Inside the Manosphere, pulls back the curtain, showing how influential figures draw young men in and steer them towards increasingly rigid, and at times harmful, ways of seeing women and themselves.
Understandably, the documentary raised many concerns about how young men are forming views about life that match neither the reality of the world nor what healthy relationships look like. It’s also led to more people asking questions about the harms caused by the manosphere and how we might reverse its toxic influence on impressionable young minds that are in the middle of important developmental stages.
Growing up in the 1990s, my circle of influence comprised around 10 or so close friends, and perhaps 20-30 “fringe friends” beyond that. We learned from each other’s experiences and insights, and had our fair share of setbacks and unrequited loves along the way.
Having that support system was important, and so was not having an online world where we might have encountered dangerous ideas which, when packaged persuasively, can feel like sound advice.
Today, there is a loneliness epidemic among young people, who experience fewer social connections and friendships and have less emotional support compared with previous generations. When young people today have fewer in-person friendships and less space to develop themselves socially, online communities are just a few clicks away.
As Jonathan Haidt argues in his book, The Anxious Generation (2024), we’ve become far more protective of young people offline since around the early 2000s, while leaving them largely alone in digital environments that now shape their worldview.
Of course, it’s important that we avoid taking an alarmist approach to these concerns. Many young people are doing well; they enjoy friendships and support, and have a sense of direction. The concern is for those who feel more exposed to these spaces, and whether we’re paying enough attention to what’s shaping their views, and how they’re learning to make sense of it.
Research led by Dr Jane Gilmour at University College London points out that adolescence is already a period of heightened sensitivity to status, belonging, and identity. This point is explored in-depth in Dr Lucy Foulkes’ excellent book, Coming of Age (2024).
Online spaces that promise clarity, direction, and recognition tap early into needs of identity and status. Influencing young minds begins gradually, where something as ordinary as fitness or self-improvement can lead to more rigid ideas about relationships and gender.
Many young men find something personal in these ideas. Studies from the Australian National University point to experiences of rejection, uncertainty, and confusion around changing gender roles in modern times. When those feelings don’t have a place to be worked through, they’re easily channelled and captured by idealistic solutions to the complexity of growing up.
In online spaces, influencers enjoy frictionless platforms on which they can share their message. In the past, if someone in my friend group said something off, others would push back. There was a kind of informal correction that was part of looking out for each other. Now, it’s possible to find entire communities that reinforce whatever you already believe.
Every frustration can be validated, every impulse justified. Over time, that can chip away at a sense of responsibility, leaving some young men feeling like life is something that happens to them rather than something they’re actually a part of, in which they have a role to play.
In dealing with the influences of the manosphere, research across the University of York, Cambridge, and the Australian Institute of Criminology suggests change comes through understanding more than argument.
This might start with questions rather than lectures, and having curiosity about what draws people to these views. It’s also helpful for adults to avoid dismissing harmful behaviours as “boys will be boys”.
In practical terms, it means helping young men develop friendships that support them but that will also push back when needed, and giving them access to clubs, sports, or shared activities where they can feel part of something without adopting a rigid version of who they should be.
Alongside that, helping young people understand how online content works, how algorithms amplify certain messages, and how influence is monetised, can help to create some distance from what they’re seeing and buying into.
Adolescence is a vital time of development where our sense of self and place in the world is searched for and formed. It’s a time of emerging independence – but that independence still needs guidance. And not guidance that worked well decades ago. If we want young people to develop in healthy ways, guidance should come from understanding their world so they can adjust to its challenges and demands.
