Young boys and young men are turning to the Internet for connection: to learn about dating, to learn about what it means to be a young man, looking for social supports and looking to figure themselves out. As they do these searches, they are presented with these deeply misogynistic and hateful videos and resources put out by these social influencers.
We are seeing more and more of that kind of impact, and these young men start to take on those narratives. They start to accept those ideologies, those ways, those narratives and that advice, which are often disguised as improving self-esteem, improving their own looks and physique and so forth, but they often incorporate deeply hateful, misogynistic attitudes blaming women, immigrants and newcomer communities for all the problems that men, boys and young men are experiencing today.
It's that kind of increased ideology, that increased presence and impact that's deeply concerning. More and more young people are falling prey to those types of narratives in the absence of good, positive role models, influencers who talk about what it means to shed those harmful gender stereotypes and social norms that so many young men are pressured to live with and grow up believing in.
We need to change that around. We need to quiet those hateful voices, misogynistic voices, and instead present good role model voices, influencers who can share supportive, allied narratives that young men can take on.