Youth Voice – Pushing back against the Manosphere

Social media can be awesome. Hilarious pet videos fill our screens while people share their talents, interests, and daily activities all through the freedom of the internet. Unfortunately, for many teenage boys, their social media looks very different. Their feeds are filled with fights, men telling them they need to look better, and people sharing extreme views on women.

This is known as ‘the manosphere’, an online community of men who promote toxic masculinity and anti-feminism. The space is filled with popular influencers like Andrew Tate, who went viral in 2022 for his highly controversial opinions.

Recently, British documentary producer released an inside look into the lives of the influencers, titled “Inside the Manosphere”, it exposed the men’s shocking views, and more importantly, reveals the hold their content has on young men. Packs of starstruck teenagers can be seen surrounding the influencers, praising them for their content and lifestyle.

Watching the documentary, it’s easy to feel like that world is far removed from life on the Coast. I doubt the influencers have ever heard of New Zealand, so at least teenage boys are safe from encountering them in the wild. Instead, I think the real danger is in the moment social media decides to push toxic masculinity onto young men

An article by The Guardian captures this perfectly in the title alone: “We unleashed Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms on blank accounts. They served up sexism and misogyny.” The study showed that once the algorithm knows you’re a young male, it spreads manosphere content like wildfire.

My feed is no exception to this. The algorithm is determined to show me videos of men telling me I need to ‘get rich quick’ or that ‘short men need to work 10 times harder’ (which is hurtful since I’m 5ft 6in). Many young men I know can relate to this quiet invasion of their social media. They’ve discovered that staring at a manosphere video a little too long secretly means they’ll be flooded with that same content for the next month.

But not all hope is lost. Young people don’t automatically believe everything they see. For most teens, the manosphere is just another crazy corner of the internet. Personally, I have a little chuckle whenever Andrew Tate makes it into my feed. But this doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous. The constant barrage can affect teens who are already vulnerable to the message, leading them to believe that the manosphere is the only place that will accept them.

Most of the influencers in the documentary came from broken homes themselves. Despite their extreme views, I think there are positive messages that young men can take from the manosphere influencers, like going to the gym and eating healthy. But most importantly, our young men need the support of a community that cares for them. They need to know they’re not alone.