A new report has delved into the impact of masculinity influencers, finding that most young Aussie men engage with, and take advice from, masculinity content on social media.
The statistics were identified by a new report from The Movember Institute of Men’s Health, released on Wednesday, surveyed more than 3,000 men aged between the ages of 16 to 25 across Australia, the UK and the US to glean the results.
It found that more than two thirds (68 per cent) of young Australian men view social media content about men and masculinity on a regular basis.
The report looked particularly into masculinity influencers — sometimes called ‘himfluencers’ — who discuss and provide advice on a range of topics, including videos and posts about fitness and wellbeing, relationships and careers, and personal discipline and self-improvement.
Those who regularly turn to masculinity content were found to incur worse mental health outcomes than those who don’t.
Aussie men who consult ‘himfluencers’ also reported higher levels of engagement in risky health behaviours, like taking steroids or diet pills, as well as higher levels of frustration around dating.
Active followers of masculinity content were also found to hold more traditional attitudes around gender roles.
For example, 76 per cent of those who lean on masculinity content believed “men need to be stoic to control their emotions”, compared to 57 per cent of those who do not engage with influencers.
Meanwhile, 67 per cent of men engaging with influencers believed women should fulfil traditional roles as wives and mothers, compared to 43 per cent of non-engaged men.
Perhaps most troublingly, 27 per cent of those who follow masculinity influencers experienced feelings of worthlessness, compared to the 23 per cent of men who aren’t active followers.
Meanwhile, over in the UK, the report indicated the number of young men who act on advice shared in masculinity content, with 35 per cent of respondents revealing they’d taken suggestions given by ‘himfluencers.’
However, it’s not all doom and gloom.
Young Aussies who engage with the content were found to have more optimism about their personal futures, and also placed greater importance on having male friends.
Speaking of the report, Movember director Sarah Sternberg said the research “identifies both the positive and negative effects that online content is having on young men”.
“It’s our responsibility to ensure young men have access to diverse perspectives that support, not harm, their mental and physical wellbeing,” she added.
It comes as Adolescence — the recent Netflix series which touches on the implications of masculinity content on social media — continues to dominate the cultural conversation.
Last month, Adolescence creator Jack Thorne said the show was reflective of the culture perpetuated by the likes of Andrew Tate, a masculinity influencer who forms part of the so-called ‘manosphere’ alongside the likes of Jordan Peterson and Hamza Ahmed, among many others.
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