PETALING JAYA: Malaysian boys are increasingly being bombarded by "alpha male" and "red pill" ideology on social media, says an expert, claiming that this is contributing towards a worrying rise in school violence.
Crime expert R. Paneir Selvam told Sinar Daily that the surge of these toxic ideologies, often spread by influencers like Andrew Tate, promote dominance, control over women and emotional suppression.
“Young boys, especially those feeling insecure or powerless, may adopt these views and imitate them in real life,” he said.
He warned that such beliefs can lead to bullying, misogyny and the notion that violence equals strength.
“Teachers report boys repeating these ideas in school, showing growing disrespect toward girls,” he told Sinar Daily.
He added that mental health neglect was a key issue, as students often face stress, trauma or bullying but lack access to mental health support.
He clarified that many schools do not have enough counsellors or proactive programmes to help students manage their emotions.
“Family issues like domestic violence, parental neglect, or broken homes may also influence aggressive behaviour in school,” he added.
Paneir also pointed to weak school discipline, where warning signs like bullying are often ignored until incidents escalate.
He also stated that social media normalises violence.
“Viral videos of fights or aggressive behaviour can make violence seem acceptable or even admirable,” he said, adding that "rewarding bad behaviour when violent acts gain views and likes encourages others to copy them to gain online clout.”
He criticised the current reactive approach, saying most schools lack proactive counselling systems.
“Some schools have just one counsellor for over 1,000 students,” he said, adding that parents also lack the tools to manage children’s emotional or behavioural issues.
Paneir called for regulating toxic online content, incorporating emotional intelligence and gender respect into education and training teachers and parents to recognise early signs of distress.
The Red Pill
The "red pill", which was initially popularised by the Matrix trilogy of movies, has become a symbol widely used on social media by the "manosphere".
According to UN Women, the “manosphere” is a loose network of communities that claim to address men’s struggles – dating, fitness or fatherhood, for example – but often promote harmful advice and attitudes.
"As the United Nations Secretary-General’s report on violence against women and girls highlights, these groups are united by an opposition to feminism and misrepresent men as “victims” of the current social and political climate.
"This content is also gaining traction. According to the Movember Foundation, a leading men’s health organisation and UN Women partner, two-thirds of young men regularly engage with masculinity influencers online.
"Experts are finding that the popularity of extreme language in the manosphere not only normalises violence against women and girls, but has growing links to radicalisation and extremist ideologies," said the group.
In the Matrix movies, the protagonist Neo is offered a choice of two pills. If he takes the blue pill, he will continue to exist in the world as he knows it, which is actually a simulation controlled by sentient machines who have enslaved humanity as a power source. If he takes the red pill, he will be released into the “real world”, where the curtain is pulled back and the truth is revealed.
According to Robert Lawson, an Associate Professor in Sociolinguistics at Birmingham City University, the red pill symbolises being awoken to the “truth” that socially, economically and sexually, men are at the whims of women’s (and feminists’) power and desires.
"The pill symbolism has also been taken up by the alt-right and cuts across a variety of conspiracy theories, from the claim of feminism controlling the world to shadowy global elites influencing public opinion," he wrote in the editorial portal - The Conversation.
'The world is fake'
“This world is fake. I have already won.”
According to Selangor police, this was the message in a handwritten note found on the 14-year-old who is believed to have stabbed his 16-year-old female schoolmate, Yap Shing Xuen, multiple times in the neck and chest. The girl died in the attack.
The note, which has been circulating on social media, is said to contain various other messages too, some of which allude to love, revenge and anger at the school.
The note also revealed an obsession with online games, some of them violent.
Misogynist Andrew Tate
One of the most popular influencers pushing anti-women ideologies is Andrew Tate, who, according to the BBC, is a self-proclaimed "misogynist".
Tate first rose to fame after an appearance on the British version of reality TV show Big Brother in 2016. He only lasted six days on the programme before being removed following the emergence of a video that appeared to show him attacking a woman.
He and his brother had also previously been charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.
Now, the 38-year-old former kickboxer boasts more than 10 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, and a worldwide profile.
