Kara Alaimo is a professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back” was published in 2024 by Alcove Press
If your adolescent son is online, he’s almost certainly seeing content that promotes masculinity and suggests troubling things about girls, according to research published on Wednesday.
Most boys — 73% — see content about “digital masculinity” regularly, which includes posts about fighting, building muscles and making money, according to a new Common Sense Media survey.
Boys with higher exposure to this kind of content have lower self-esteem and are lonelier, according to the July survey of 1,000-plus boys ages 11 to 17 living in the United States. These boys are also more likely to hide their feelings and believe they shouldn’t express emotions, such as by crying or showing fear.
Interestingly, boys largely don’t go online seeking this content, said Michael Robb, lead author of the study and head of research at Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that helps parents and teachers instill cr
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