Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2025 Sep;30(3):272-274.
doi: 10.1111/camh.12747. Epub 2025 Jan 13.

Editorial Perspective: What do we need to know about the manosphere and young people's mental health?

Harriet Over  1 , Carl Bunce  1 , Delali Konu  1 , David Zendle  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Editorial Perspective: What do we need to know about the manosphere and young people's mental health?

Harriet Over et al. Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

The manosphere is an international network of social media influencers and communities promoting male supremacy and antifeminist ideologies. Young men are engaging with this extremist content at high rates. Despite growing concerns among educators, policymakers and researchers, systematic data on the long-term impact of the manosphere on young people's mental health and behaviour remains limited. However, preliminary data suggest that the manosphere is encouraging sexist attitudes, exacerbating existing inequalities in schools, and spreading dangerous messages about mental health. We discuss the current state of research, highlight the challenges of measuring engagement with online misogyny, and propose priorities for future work. Our commentary underscores the urgent need for multilevel interventions to counteract the negative effects of the manosphere on the attitudes of young men, and their downstream consequences for the mental health and well-being of women and girls.

Keywords: Manosphere; adolescents; mental health; misogyny; online harm.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Baker, C., Ging, D., & Brandt Andreasen, M. (2024). Recommending toxicity: The role of algorithmic recommender functions on YouTube shorts and TikTok in promoting male supremacist influencers. DCU Anti‐Bullying Centre, Dublin City University. Available from: https://antibullyingcentre.ie/publication/recommending‐toxicity‐the‐role... [last accessed 27 November 2024].
    1. Bunce, C., Zendle, D., & Over, H. (2024). Male pupils' engagement with online misogyny predicts sexist discrimination in schools and poor mental health among female teachers. Manuscript submitted for publication.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data summary & trends report 2011–2021. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBS_Data‐Summary‐Trends_...
    1. Costello, T.H., Pennycook, G., & Rand, D.G. (2024). Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI. Science, 385(6714), eadq1814. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq1814
    1. Crone, E.A.M., & Konijn, E.A. (2018). Media use and brain development during adolescence. Nature Communications, 9, e588.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources