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“Adolescence,” the Netflix mini-series about a 13-year-old boy accused of killing a classmate after consuming hateful, misogynistic content online, has soared in popularity since it was released last month.
Have you seen it, or discussed it with friends or family?
The series has helped draw attention to a disturbing trend: the surge in content that demeans and degrades women on the internet?
What have you been seeing or experiencing on social media? Do you think we should be worried about the growing online ‘manosphere’?
In the guest essay “Don’t Throw Our Boys to the Wolves Online,” Rachel Louise Snyder writes:
Last year, researchers at Dublin City University released a report on a disturbing phenomenon: a surge of male supremacy videos in young men’s social media feeds. It’s the kind of report that should sound an alarm for parents, teachers and administrators. But as the gender divide widens and young men increasingly lean conservative amid Trump-era authoritarianism, it feels less like a future warning and more like a current diagnosis.
In the report, researchers created sock-puppet accounts — fake accounts registered as teenage boys — to determine how quickly misogynistic videos show up in users’ TikTok and YouTube feeds. Alongside a control group, one group used male-coded search terms, such as “gaming” or “gym tips,” while another searched for more extreme anti-feminist, male-supremacist content. The “manosphere,” as it is often referred to, includes videos by Andrew and Tristan Tate, influencers who profit off the insecurities of young men. (The Tate brothers are embroiled in criminal and civil cases in Romania, Britain and the United States. They deny the allegations against them.)
It took under nine minutes for TikTok to offer troubling content to their fake 16-year-old boys, which later included explicitly anti-feminist and anti-L.G.B.T.Q. videos. Much of the content blamed women and trans people for the standing they believe men have lost in the world. More extreme content appeared within 23 minutes. Male supremacy videos intersected with reactionary right-wing punditry within two or three hours.
By the final phase of the experiment, accounts that showed even slight interest in the manosphere — for instance, accounts that watched a video all the way through — resulted in their For You feeds offering more than 78 percent alpha-male and anti-feminist content. Messages included: Feminism has gone too far, men are losing out on jobs to women and women prefer to stay at home rather than work.
Catherine Baker, the lead author of the study, says this messaging resonates because it plays into young men’s insecurities around their bodies — many of the accounts glorify fitness — as well as their future success and their relationships. Young men might believe that in order to be successful, they can’t show vulnerability; they need wealth, six-pack abs and social, political and cultural dominance.
Ms. Louise Snyder addresses “Adolescence” and its implications for society and lawmakers:
The new Netflix mini-series “Adolescence” grapples with this. In it, a 13-year-old boy named Jamie Miller appears to have killed his female classmate. His parents are good people and engaged in their child’s life but are tortured by what they chose to ignore. The father tried to toughen up his son, forcing him to play sports even though Jamie struggled. He ignored his son’s love of drawing and how quickly the internet could turn vile. Jamie’s parents buy him a computer and a headset and believe he is safe because he is at home, in his room.
This is what parents so often think. At home, our children will be safe. Our proximity equals security. It may be fictional, but “Adolescence” nails the naïveté of this rationalization.
There are at least four bills before Congress meant to address transparency in algorithms, limits on social media and similar measures. (Algorithms can serve anyone troubling content.) We regulate any number of things that pose dangers to our children: cars, toys, chemicals, alcohol. Any delay in cleaning up the online ecosystem is congressional malpractice.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
What’s your reaction to the essay and to the report by Dublin City University released last year on the surge of male supremacy videos in young men’s social media feeds, such as TikTok and YouTube? Which of the details, findings and statistics stood out to you?
Ms. Snyder says the report should “sound an alarm for parents, teachers and administrators.” Do you agree? How concerned should we be about the online manosphere?
What have you been noticing on social media? Have you ever encountered anti-feminist, male supremacist or misogynistic content online? If so, how did you respond? How did it make you think or feel?
Catherine Baker, the lead author of the study, says this content might lead young men to believe “that in order to be successful, they can’t show vulnerability; they need wealth, six-pack abs and social, political and cultural dominance.” What messages have you gotten about being a boy or girl from social media? Do you think this content has had a positive or negative effect on you or your peers?
Have you watched the Netflix series “Adolescence,” or discussed it with any friends or family? If so, did the show resonate with any of your own experiences, in school, at home or online? What lessons, if any, can we draw from the fictional show for teenagers or their parents?
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, who offers digital literacy guides for administrators, teachers and parents, says, “We just throw our kids to the wolves algorithmically, and expect them to recognize and reject it. But we need to do a better job of helping those kids and parents understand what they’re seeing.” Does your school offer a social media literacy curriculum, workshops or lessons? Do you agree that we are “throwing our kids to the algorithmic wolves,” as Ms. Miller-Idriss says? What do you think of her call to start lessons for understanding online content and messages as early as elementary school?
The essay notes that there are at least four bills before Congress meant to address transparency in algorithms, limits on social media and similar measures. Would you be in favor of such actions? What else could we do to address the issue?
If you are a boy, what would you like adults to understand about growing up male today that they might not see or know? If you are not a boy, what do you think boys need to understand about misogyny and masculinity that they might not see or know?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
