Public health response urged to counter online manosphere impact on men

The online manosphere is driving harmful attitudes and deepening health inequalities among boys and young men, according to Euronews. Experts are calling for a public health strategy to target the root causes behind the online movement. [1]

Euronews reported that boys and young men who feel overlooked by society often seek a sense of community online. Within these digital spaces, men share a preoccupation with an alleged crisis of masculinity and maintain a belief that feminism has systematically disadvantaged men. Sarah Hawkes, the co-founder of the Global 50/50 think tank, stated that the manosphere provides young men with a sense of identity, belonging, and an explanation for their personal difficulties. [1]

The term manosphere describes a network of online communities that includes men's rights activists, involuntary celibates, and pick-up artists. As FTMQ News reported earlier, academics have recommended regulating these male insecurity networks in a manner similar to the tobacco industry. Researchers urged governments, schools, and health services to tackle online misogyny while improving job prospects and skills training to help prevent isolation among young men. [3][4]

The movement originated during the early 2000s within online forum discussions regarding seduction tactics and men's rights advocacy. It expanded around 2012 through communities on Reddit that popularized concepts challenging mainstream societal views on gender dynamics. [3]