Latest news with #youngMen
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats ponder the 'manosphere'
Democrats know they have a problem with men, particularly the young men who have drifted away from them in recent years. But six months after the gender gap contributed to the party's disappointing showing in last year's election, top Democrats are still throwing spaghetti at the wall, lacking a unified theory on how to win these voters back. Some are trying to break into the culturally conservative podcasts that have thrived at building big audiences of Gen Z men. Some are ceding ground on issues Democrats have long seen as sacred in the culture war, while others insist that the party's current message will work. Some are pitching grand plans about funding a new influencer ecosystem that subtly boosts the left. At the center of all of this is an acknowledgement that public opinion on the Democratic Party has dipped to an all-time low, men are souring on the party especially quickly, and losing ground with about half the voting population isn't a recipe for success. It's weighing heavily on the minds of Democrats while making Republicans giddy: On Friday, President Donald Trump needled Democrats for wanting to 'spend money to learn how to talk' to men. Jeff Horwitt, a Democratic pollster with Hart Research Associates (who conducts the NBC News poll with a Republican counterpart), told NBC News that a look at recent presidential exit poll results shows that 'when Democrats do well broadly with men, they are competitive. When Democrats are not competitive with men, Democrats lose.' And while Horwitt doesn't believe Republicans 'have a lock on young men,' the GOP spoke to their economic anxiety in 2024 in a way that loomed large in 2024. 'There was one party that was really addressing that and feeding that anger — I would argue in an unproductive but, unfortunately, ultimately more compelling way,' Horwitt said, 'while the Democratic Party was focusing more on other issues and not addressing some of the uncomfortable reality of what was going on.' Much of the attention of Democrats in the aftermath of the 2024 election has centered on young men. While younger voters lean more liberal, the recent NBC News Stay Tuned Poll powered by SurveyMonkey found the largest gender gap of any generation was among Gen Z, with the largest gaps in that cohort on Trump's approval rating and key cultural issues. The poll also included one potential partial explanation for why: differences in how men and women consume news. Younger women were more likely to turn to TikTok. Younger men were more likely to say YouTube and X were their favorite news sources. The YouTube, social media and podcasting universe exploding in popularity with young men has been nicknamed the 'manosphere' — a spectrum of podcasts hosted by men that generally cover sports, internet culture, dating and sometimes politics. 'The Joe Rogan Experience' has become the exemplar of the genre. The freewheeling three-hour podcast features interviews with a variety of guests. It doesn't structure the unscripted conversations around politics, even if an often right-leaning worldview sometimes colors the conversation. Other shows in this space also garner hundreds of thousands to millions of views per episode, ranging from shows focused on comedy (like the 'Flagrant' podcast hosted by comedians Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh and 'This Past Weekend' hosted by comedian Theo Von) to shows focused on military veterans and strength (like the 'Shawn Ryan Show') to those focused on sports (like Barstool Sports' 'Pardon My Take'). The lengthy-yet-revealing Rogan-style interviews are a popular feature on these shows, often covering new ground about a celebrity or a taboo topic. Some of these podcasts have also faced accusations of misogyny and racism, while other, more controversial figures on the fringes of the 'manosphere' have been accused of sexual harassment or rape. Jackson Katz, a gender violence prevention activist and educator, said that young men aren't necessarily drawn to the podcasts because of their perceived politics, but for the other topics they discuss. 'They don't see themselves as political actors, if you will. A lot of these hosts, they see themselves as … guys just hanging out with the guys, you know, talking about sports, talking about relationships, talking about working out, eating, eating healthy, you know, things like that, and throwing in some politics,' Katz told NBC News. Engaging on these platforms was part of the Trump campaign's strategy last year, with Trump appearing on more than a dozen 'manosphere' podcasts during his 2024 campaign. His October appearance on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' alone generated almost 60 million views. Trump and his closest allies have also flirted with the darker corners of the 'manosphere.' Trump appeared on a livestream with controversial influencer Adin Ross. Trump's two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, spoke on social media with Andrew Tate and Russell Brand, respectively, in 2024. At that time, Tate had been charged with human trafficking in Romania and Brand had been facing allegations of sexual assault for which he has since been charged. Both men deny the allegations against them. Trump talked not only about politics but also about football, drugs, aliens and UFOs on the shows — conversations Katz said were 'about proving that he could be relatable and could hang with the guys.' And the conversations reverberated across social media, reaching a wider audience than just regular listeners. Trump thanked some of those podcasts and hosts by name during his victory speech. Some Democrats were quick to blame Vice President Kamala Harris' comparative lack of appearances on podcasts and unscripted platforms as part of the reason why she lost, and some have argued that engaging on these platforms is part of the pathway back. 'A lot of young men were attracted to spaces that weren't as buttoned up, were more free-flowing and open to unstructured conversations,' Rotimi Adeoye, a political writer and Democratic strategist who used to work on Capitol Hill and for the ACLU, told NBC News. 'People like Theo Von and Joe Rogan came up through a culture that prioritizes detours over script and emotional honesty over polish. But Democrats have, at times, leaned on polish because it does well with constituencies like college-educated liberals,' Adeoye continued. It's one reason why a flood of Democrats are starting their own podcasts or are putting themselves through the wringer in hour-plus interviews with these popular personalities. But even those conversations illustrate how the party is grappling with bigger questions on its communication and outreach strategies. One example is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who started his own podcast in the wake of Democrats' loss in 2024. Newsom promised listeners that the show would feature conversations with 'voices from across the political spectrum, including those I fundamentally disagree with.' The deep divisions among Democrats about how to engage men, how to juggle that outreach with more controversial pieces of the 'manosphere,' and even the definition of masculinity itself were all on display during Newsom's recent chat with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a discussion between two men weighing bids for higher office. Questioning Newsom's decision to invite Trump allies like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon onto his podcast, Walz told Newsom, 'I can't message to misogynists.' The 2024 vice presidential candidate later asked, 'How do we push some of those guys back under a rock?' Newsom replied that he wants to 'understand what their motivations are' and pushed back on the idea they were solely motivated by racism and misogyny, calling back to earlier in the podcast when he told Walz that 'not everybody that disagrees with us is a misogynist.' 'I think there's a lot of that, but I don't think it's exclusively that,' Newsom said, adding that Bannon's talk about the working class reminds him of his grandfather. Shortly before that exchange, Walz lamented how during his time on the 2024 presidential ticket, conservative media would do segments like one that mocked him for drinking a milkshake with a straw. 'How do you fight it? I think I can kick most of their ass[es]. I do think that, if they want to, I know I can outrun them,' Walz said shortly afterward, questioning the wisdom of getting into a 'WWE fight' with conservatives. Walz, a Midwestern governor who was tapped for the presidential ticket after gaining prominence among Democrats for his straight talk on the stump, did make attempts to reach out to men during the campaign. He appeared at the national convention with his former football team, he played Madden on a Twitch stream and went hunting with influencers as part of a charm offensive toward men. But during a recent interview with the Harvard University Institute of Politics, he admitted the efforts came up short, even as he said a lesson from Trump's win is 'if you leave a void, Donald Trump will fill it.' 'I also was on the ticket, quite honestly, because I could code talk to white guys watching football, fixing their truck, doing that, that I could put them at ease. I was the permission structure to say: Look, you can do this and vote for this. And you look across those swing states, with the exception of Minnesota, we didn't get enough of those votes,' he said. Katz, the researcher who also appeared on a later episode of Newsom's podcast, told NBC News he understood Walz' hesitance to appear on 'manosphere' podcasts, but he argued Democrats should be entering these spaces. 'I think some Democrats have been reluctant, because you can't control the message coming from the other side. In other words, you don't know what the podcasters are going to say,' Katz said. 'They might say things that wouldn't pass muster on the ... progressive, liberal side of the house. But if you want to engage people, you have to engage people, and you have to have dialogue with people.' 'If we truly believe our own ideas, why are we afraid to be challenged on them?' he added. Some prominent politicians are already bringing their message to these spaces, like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who each recently appeared on 'Flagrant,' which Trump also joined last year. While the 83-year-old Sanders, a two-time runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination, isn't likely to run for the White House again, the 43-year-old Buttigieg is clearly eyeing higher office. Buttigieg and Sanders embraced the wide-ranging, off-the-cuff nature of 'Flagrant,' with Buttigieg sharing his opinions about the finale of HBO's 'White Lotus' and discussing his journey toward coming out as gay, while Sanders mused about his childhood love of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Both politicians offered sharp critiques of Trump but also of the Democratic Party, with Sanders drawing the ire of some Democrats for agreeing with the hosts when they argued the Democratic Party hasn't run a 'fair primary' since 2008. Buttigieg lamented Democrats' reticence to appear on podcasts and other nontraditional forms of media, arguing Democrats have rested on their laurels after being early adopters of social media. 'We have to be encountering people who don't think like us and don't view the world the way we do, both in order to actually legitimately become smarter and better and make better choices and have better positions, and just in order to persuade. There's no persuasion now, or there's not enough persuasion,' he added. While Buttigieg and Sanders recently traveled to appear on one of the more popular shows in this space, some want Democrats to bankroll their own media ecosystem. They hope to poach male listeners and viewers from these podcasts and build their own space that's friendlier to liberal voices and perspectives while maintaining some of the trappings and attraction of shows like Rogan's. The New York Times recently reported on one such pitch, a $20 million plan called 'Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan' that aims to 'study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.' Adeoye, the Democratic strategist, said he fears Democratic donors trying to take their ball and go home won't ultimately be successful because that lacks the authenticity that drew men to these spaces in the first place. 'They have good intentions, but if they just want to throw money at the problem and create new podcasts instead of engaging with people where they already exist, they are breaking the core rule of politics: meeting people where they are,' Adeoye said. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Young men are binge drinking less than young women for the 1st time. What's going on?
Gen Z has been hailed as the 'sober-curious' generation, with rates of risky behaviors such as drinking alcohol, as well as having sex and using drugs, falling to historically low rates. But one study recently put an even finer point on the trend: Young men in particular are the ones giving up binge drinking, defined as having five or more alcoholic beverages in one sitting for men, or four or more for women. Fewer Gen Z men than women reported binge drinking in the last month between 2021 and 2023, according to the April 2025 study in JAMA. Though the gap between men's and women's drinking rates has been narrowing over the past several decades, in recent years women's alcohol use has outpaced men's for the first time ever. The findings have raised alarm bells over women's high binge-drinking rates. But a closer look shows that the closing gender gap is driven as much, if not more so, by falling bingeing rates among men, especially young adult males. So what's inspiring young men to drink less or not at all? We looked into it. All young adults were drinking less between 2021 and 2023, compared with the 2017-19 period, according to the study. Young women were binge drinking 13% less, but young men saw an even bigger drop — nearly 21%. So it's not that more women are necessarily binge drinking now — it's that fewer men are, and that shift has made women's rates seem higher in comparison. Why young men are drinking less is still up for debate, notes study author and University of Pittsburgh internist Dr. Bryant Shuey. Though he sees the declining rates of binge drinking among young men as a 'public health success,' Shuey wonders if it's more complicated than a pure win. 'Are young people happy, socially connected and drinking less, or is it that middle-aged and young men are more lonely, less social and less willing to call up a friend for drinks,' he says. 'There's potential that there is a tradeoff here: Less alcohol and more loneliness, and we need to think about addressing both.' There's no shortage of theories behind Gen Z's relative sobriety: Young people are big on prioritizing their health, and there's a booming health and wellness industry to meet the demand; the loneliness epidemic that Shuey noted; rising rates of young people choosing cannabis over alcohol; and Gen Z-ers choosing to scroll on a smartphone rather than partying with friends. A recent Dutch study suggested it may be simpler than all that: Young people are just too broke to buy drinks (and costs are rising). Dry January and "sober-curious" posts on social media may also play a role, experts and men who have gotten sober suggest. Brandan Saho, a sports journalist and host of the podcast The Mental Game, says both trends have inspired a lot of young people to not drink. 'And once they see that their personal life is better and their physical health is better and that no one cares that they don't drink,' then picturing a sober life becomes that much easier, says Saho. 'It's not a defining thing like it would've been 10 or 15 years ago, when you weren't cool if you didn't drink.' Fellow podcaster Shane Ramer says there was a 'lack of the cool element' to sobriety when he quit drinking. A decade later, he's hosting the That Sober Guy podcast and thinks that 'people are waking up to the fact that … it's so much cooler and respectable and how many more opportunities there are,' when you don't drink, he says. Ramer, 43, and Saho, 31, are recovering alcoholics. Both grew up in households where drinking — often heavy drinking — was the norm, but it wasn't talked about. While they're not part of Gen Z, Ramer and Saho suspect that some of the younger generation had similar experiences. 'It took me hitting my rock bottom and almost not being alive for me to tell my dad,' says Saho, referring to his drinking. 'You should be able to talk to the men in your life, but until the past five or 10 years, no one did.' That's changing with social media, podcasts and vodcasts, especially given that many influential (and, in some cases, controversial) male podcasters with large followings of young men are sober and vocal about it: Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Andrew Huberman, for example, have all quit drinking. On Reddit, several people said that Huberman's episode on the effects of alcohol have gotten them to quit drinking. Hearing some of them talk about giving up alcohol to focus on the work they enjoy doing resonated with Saho. As he says in one TikTok, it helped inspire him to stay sober. While social media certainly has its downsides and dangers, Ramer describes a 'cultural shift' around drinking that's having a positive effect on young men. 'You have a lot of media and podcasts and celebrity people who are sober and open about it,' he says, adding that this openness provides a sense of community and a path forward for people, including young men, who are considering drinking less — or not at all.
Medical News Today
26-05-2025
- Health
- Medical News Today
Heart health: Exercise not enough to offset effects of poor sleep
Poor sleep can impact health in many ways, particularly the heart. blackCAT/Getty Images A study led by researchers from Uppsala University examined how sleeping poorly can affect the body — specifically heart health. In the crossover study, scientists checked the participants' biomarkers after they underwent sessions of poor sleep and healthy sleep. They found that biomarkers associated with inflammation and heart health increased after just three nights of poor sleep. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that adults get at least seven hours of sleep per night, this can sometimes be tough to achieve. Whether it is due to stress or underlying health issues, it is almost inevitable to get less than the recommended sleep at some point. A new study examines how quickly the body can start reacting negatively to poor sleep. The results show that getting a bad night's sleep just three nights in a row can start affecting health. When seeing whether exercise could offset the effects of three nights of poor sleep, the researchers learned that it could help but did not cancel the effects of poor sleep. The study appears in the journal Biomarker Research . The researchers noted that prior studies have shown the cardiovascular risks of chronic poor sleep. However, they thought research on short-term sleep deprivation and physiological factors needed to be expanded. This study examined the effects of poor sleep in 16 young men , who the researchers noted all had healthy weights. The researchers carried out the study over two sessions, each of which included three nights of monitoring in a sleep lab. In one session, the men underwent 3 nights of restricted sleep. On these nights, they only got around 4.25 hours of sleep. The researchers collected blood samples from the participants in the morning and evening and before and after high-intensity exercise. The high-intensity exercise sessions lasted 30 minutes each. In another 3-night session, the participants got a normal night's sleep of around 8.5 hours on average. The study analyzed 88 proteins related to cardiovascular disease, such as leptin, lipoprotein lipase, and galectin-9. After reviewing the data collected, the researchers found that short-term sleep restriction was enough to change the participants' biomarkers. Just three nights of poor sleep elevated proteins that are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Exercise was not enough to completely cancel out the harm caused by sleep restriction. While exercise did impact protein levels to some degree, the participants still experienced increases in 16 proteins related to cardiovascular disease. According to the study authors, 'the upregulated set included several stress, interleukin, and chemokine-related proteins.' Some beneficial proteins that are connected to the positive effects of exercise, such as IL-6 and BDNF, were elevated regardless of sleep status. However, the proteins in people with sleep restriction were not elevated as much as in people with normal sleep. The study shows that short-term sleep restriction can contribute to biological changes even in young, healthy men. This information demonstrates the need for awareness of how just a few nights of poor sleep have the potential to impact the heart. The study authors emphasized that more research is necessary to determine the impacts that short-term sleep restriction can have on older adults and women. Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, spoke with Medical News Today about the study findings. 'This biomarker-based study found changes in blood chemistry associated with inflammation after a few nights of sleep restriction,' said Chen. 'This suggests a biochemical mechanism by which poor quality sleep can impact someone's health.' Chen said the results are 'not entirely surprising' and noted that poor sleep can impact numerous health factors. In addition to cardiovascular health, Chen said sleep restriction can negatively impact endocrine and immune functioning. For people who want to improve their sleep quality and reduce the chances of activating harmful proteins related to sleep restriction, Chen suggested that people maintain 'a consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine.' 'We also recommend that people practice good sleep 'hygiene' including avoiding caffeine and alcohol later in the day, avoiding the use of electronic devices before bedtime, limiting long daytime naps, exercising regularly, and following a healthy diet,' Chen told MNT . Harneet Walia, MD, medical director of sleep for Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, also spoke with MNT . Walia noted the 'robust methods' used in the study and said, 'the findings add meaningful evidence to the growing literature suggesting that sleep duration directly impacts cardiovascular health.' 'This adds to the body of literature and amplifies the association of sleep restriction with a pro-inflammatory state, suggesting that even short-term sleep restriction can have significant health consequences.' — Harneet Walia, MD Walia recommended that people 'create a relaxing bedtime routine to signal to your body it's time to wind down' to ensure the best chances for a good night's sleep. Heart Disease Cardiovascular / Cardiology Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Why Donald Trump and the right have already lost the support of young male voters
'I'm gonna roll with him for a couple days, a couple weeks, see how this pans out.' Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy's ambivalence on Trump's tariff plan feels broadly reflective of young men's approach to politics. He's an unlikely canary in the coal mine – but he's not alone. Social media influencers and public figures like Portnoy are part of a growing wave of long-time Trump supporters turning into sceptics – on the very platforms once credited with helping Trump win. Inconsistent yet observant, young men have become a fixation across the political spectrum. The left are scrambling to find a role for progressive masculinity, and on the right, approval ratings among 18- to 29-year-olds have collapsed. So what's going on? Young men are a swinging voting bloc – and they're already rebounding. The Young Men Research Initiative, which tracks their political sentiment, recently speculated that Trump's honeymoon with young men could be "over". I've spent the last two years talking to young men across the US, and what I've consistently heard is their desperation for agency in a world that feels like it's removing it. The more both sides strategise to control them, the more they will pull away: fewer young men report acting on influencers' political content than on topics like fitness or self-improvement. The 'manosphere' feels like an easy answer. Netflix's Adolescence – where a boy is seduced by this type of rhetoric and kills his female classmate – triggered what Richard V Reeves of the American Institute of Boys and Men called a 'moral panic'. The manosphere influence is real, with six in ten young men engaging with "masculinity influencers" regularly – but the story of disaffection is far more complex. It's not so much that they're falling into extremism – it's that they're falling out of belief in the world around them. Perhaps they have been 'red-pilled' by the manosphere, enlightened by societal truths about men's place in the world – or perhaps it's the negative content they're being shown to chase engagement. Either way, it's not the story we've told ourselves: those most engaged in this content are 'more likely to be highly educated, employed, financially stable, and partnered,' according to the Movember Institute of Men's Health. Gen Z exhibits unusual cross-partisan alignment on seeing jobs and the economy as the most important issue. They share the same anxiety: that the economic system that worked for their parents won't provide the same security or opportunity for them. Four in ten young Americans under 30 say they're 'barely getting by' financially. Labour conditions for recent graduates have deteriorated noticeably and only 56 per cent feel confident in their financial futures. Covid only deepened this uncertainty. One man I interviewed described feeling two years behind in how he sees himself. Gen Z 1.0 – those in college during the pandemic – in particular feel they've lost the years that should've set them up for long-term financial and social success. It's no wonder that less than half of young men feel connected to community. As traditional life goals shift across the gender spectrum, it's unclear where they should dedicate their energy. Only 48 per cent of young Americans say having children is important. For some, new ideals are taking hold: a hyper-masculine, 'tech bro' masculinity. 'Entrepreneur' is now the most admired profession among young men, ranking above athletes and musicians. And romantic insecurity is also growing: 10 per cent fewer men than women feel confident they'll find a long-term partner. This may partly reflect women reporting that it's harder to find someone who meets their expectations – an expectation gap men aren't sure how to meet. So what role is the US government supposed to play for them? Young men increasingly doubt it will act in their best interest – disillusioned, perhaps, by growing income inequality and social fragmentation. Elon Musk is a case in point: his approval rating among millennial men has dropped in line with his perceived connectedness to the establishment from 51.5 per cent to 34.7 per cent between January and April. No longer expecting the government to deliver solutions, young men are looking elsewhere. Enter the manosphere, which urges them to 'sigma male' their way to self-sufficiency. When faith in collective solutions erodes, adversarial thinking emerges – producing a generation increasingly fragmented by gender. Without belief in a system that can address it, they're compelled to fend for themselves. In reality, the values young men admire most are often rooted in responsibility to others. The co-founder of the Young Men Research Initiative, Aaron Smith, tells me that improving messaging around protecting and providing could offer a meaningful way to connect. Young men aren't driven by ideology, but by real fears that the future they want is unclear or untenable. Winning them back won't take quick fixes – like gendered zero-sum thinking, better channels, or a return to manufacturing jobs. Instead, leaders must dedicate real policy space to co-create futures young men actually want – and really listen to them.
New York Times
13-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
What's Going On With Boys and Young Men? We Want to Hear From You.
I'm working on a series of articles on boys and young men this year, and I'd love to hear the experiences and insights of young people, or teachers, parents, coaches, pediatricians, counselors or anyone else who lives or works with boys and young men. I'll read every response to this questionnaire, and I'll text or email you if I'm interested in learning more about your story. We won't publish any part of your response without following up with you first, verifying your information and hearing back from you. And we won't share your contact information outside the Times newsroom or use it for any reason other than to get in touch with you. The open-ended questions are optional — feel free to answer whichever feel relevant to you. (Please fill out this form only if you are 14 or older. If you are between the ages of 14 and 17, I will ask to get in touch with your parent or guardian before talking with you further.)
