Summary

Social media influencers are fuelling a rise in misogyny and sexism in the UK’s classrooms, according to teachers.

More than 5,800 teachers were polled… and nearly three in five (59%) said they believe social media use has contributed to a deterioration in pupils’ behaviour.

One teacher said she’d had 10-year-old boys “refuse to speak to [her]…because [she is] a woman”. Another said “the Andrew Tate phenomena had a huge impact on how [pupils] interacted with females and males they did not see as ‘masculine’”.

“There is an urgent need for concerted action… to safeguard all children and young people from the dangerous influence of far-right populists and extremists.”

  • nixigaj@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    A lot of young boys had an “edgy” phase. Let’s hope this is somewhat true here as well.

    • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      What if their parents are shitty and encouraging this type of behavior?

      The Andrew tate type people tend to have kids because they want sex and that’s all they think about. They don’t think critically about contraception, or long term decision making. Then they either abandon the child/mother, or raise it to be an asshole.

      • EuropeanPrimate@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        You’re not wrong. Parents can be contributing just as much to the problem. I guess the only common source would be social media in general.

    • BeNotAfraid@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Except social media raised the current parents of the Day. It’s been 20 years dude. People don’t know any different.

      • EuropeanPrimate@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        Hm yea I guess so. I’m at the age where I grew up without it for a portion of time and then dealt with it in my teens. I never really used it that much though, and don’t use it all now, except for sites like these.

    • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      Ironically jokes about the internet raising children is very old. There was a comic strip in Mad Magazine from the late 90s that had a boy go ask his mom ‘mom, if God made everything, who made God?’ She replies to go ask his dad, and when he does his dad replies, ’ go ask the internet!’

      It is still funny, but given the incredible amount of disinformation out there it just is a really bad idea.

      • EuropeanPrimate@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        For sure. It’s too much to keep up with, and now, it’s getting harder to tell what’s real or not.

    • GenerationII@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      Uhh, I mean, yes. But that’s not the big own you think it is. He is SPECIFICALLY targeting children. It’s the entire basis of his grift.

  • lennybird@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I think about just how many shitty fathers these kids have, most of them in the maga cult that are lapping up the likes of Carlson and Peterson’s lessons on red pilled bullshit and condoning the behavior of their kids (albeit from a notably absent distance).

  • peekingduck@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    The funny thing is that people like Tate would be the first to be eaten when the world ends lol

    • nialv7@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      The problem isn’t that we need to get rid of Tate. They are like flies and there will always be more like him.

      What we need to figure out is what made him so persuasive to young boys - that’s the real problem. We need to know why young boys are willing to listen to bullshit like his, and we must figure out what we can do to correct that.

      • jaschen@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        No positive father figure in their lives. No sense of community. Stigma from male role models that want to step up but fear being branded a PDF.

        • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          A big part of this is the shallow takes on feminism that are so pervasive.

          And to be clear, it’s not feminism itself that is the problem. It’s the complete lack of nuance we have when discussing topics as a society. The idiots outnumber the thoughtful people, and when an idea becomes mainstream, the dumbest possible take is the loudest and the easiest to spread. So actual feminism got out-yelled by idiots taking the idea to the most illogical extreme.

          And that leads to light misandry. And even if it is light, it’s so pervasive that young boys now feel like they’re being overlooked and ignored, demonized and generalized with the worst men have to offer.

          And again, I have to stress, that this isn’t because of feminism, it’s because of the lack of nuance surrounding all discussion, but in this case, the discussion around men/feminist issues. It’s much easier to spread “all men are garbage” than it is to spread “women have historically faced complex issues that, together, are a societal stumbling block resulting in less favor in everyday life and a harder, more complicated existence.”

          And when this is the case, men like these assholes step in to tell boys, “fuck women, you are a king and you deserve everything.” And what little boy isn’t going to be empowered by that? We need to have space for men in modern society that is supportive and open, because right now the only “support for young men” comes from assholes trying to capitalize on the complicated feelings of suddenly feeling like they’re being unfairly overlooked.

          Now, that also has to take into account that if the boys are ever overlooked, it’s because there have been centuries of unequal treatment for women, and that has to start to be righted somewhere. And it’s only been in the last, like, 30-50 years. And in all that time, we haven’t taken the high road to equality, we’ve taken the easy road hyperbole and simplistic solutions, which doesn’t solve the existing problem, it just gives us new ones—like this exact problem we’re dealing with now.

        • blind3rdeye@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          I honestly don’t have a strong sense of how Tate can be so popular. But if I had to guess, I’d say the “no sense of community” is probably the biggest thing.

          The internet has become a gathering place where communities and social bonds are formed. I can imagine a heap of people who are struggling socially in the real world seeing, and then seeing Tate and his community offer an ‘answer’ to that - supporting those who feel rejected, and putting the blame squarely on others. That’s what I see as the draw that brings people in. They feel safe and secure in their haven of hatred. Any opposition to them is from people that are weaker and less important. – Which then makes leaving the group almost impossible, because you’d have to degrade your own view of yourself - joining the people who you think are weaker and less important.

          So this Tate thing is rot that has taken root because of a gap in more healthy support structures. (I don’t see an easy solution for it though!)

      • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Because all we hear about men from the left is that women would rather be with bears, and that men are useless. And that they are oppressing everyone with their privilege.

        You tell some poor white kid he’s privileged, he’s not going to be your friend or sympathetic to your causes.

        I don’t think messaging from the left has really done anything to win them over. It’s not necessarily that Andrew Tate is telling them anything amazing. He’s just a voice not blaming them for everything.

        • jumjummy@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Maybe it’s because all we hear from your type is how immigrants are the root of all problems, “all lives matter” and junk like that.

          • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            What’s my type? You couldn’t have made my point for me any harder than you just did. You just irrationally lashed out at an ally.

      • drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        We only talk about the absolute worst men. We have raised them to think that the right is the party for them because otherwise they are being told over and over that they are dangerous predators and nothing more.

    • Tony Wu@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      “There are too many assholes in the world because people let them get away with it.” - Mr Inbetween

  • lechekaflan@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    If that is where America is heading, to some theocracy like Iran and where men see women as chattel, then I would rather raise children elsewhere there is a culture of empathy.

    • TheFudd@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      So what happens when they grow up and start beating you senseless because they learned that violence is a quick and easy way to get people to do what you want them to do, rather than something to be used as a last resort?

      • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I can’t help but notice that all of the radical fascists that have taken over all of media and politics all happen to be of the age that were given timeouts. Seems that none of them learned how to respect other people’s free agency.

        • TheFudd@lemmy.world
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          No, “time outs” aren’t the problem.

          From what I’ve seen and experienced, Western liberal educators spent a ton of time focusing on the success of women and girls - which was necessary, I’m not trying to vilify women’s equality here - but unfortunately, the pendulum swung from “girls don’t need an education because they’ll just be homemakers, focus on boys” to “ignore boys, because girls need to catch up” and has been stuck there for a while.

          We can’t fix a problem that we refuse to acknowledge even exists, and we need to start admitting that we really have been pushing boys and men to the side for years now - Yes, even the white boys whom we also assumed were so “privileged” - and that we’re going to have to make some steps to amend that by reaching out to boys and treating them in ways they will respond positively to, if we want to resolve this issue.

          The alternative is letting men like Andrew Tate take the wheel and mentor these boys as he sees fit, which is obviously a terrible idea.

  • Hyphlosion@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Dude, I never cared who my teachers were, so long as they weren’t jerks. Even then, I got over it.

  • ExLisperA
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    3 days ago

    In my opinion the huge difference between this generation and all previous ones is that content is no longer vetted by anyone. It used to be that to put something in front of kids it had to approved by some sane adult. If a TV station marketed to children something that most parents would not approve they would face protests or maybe even legal action. On social media any asshole can post literally anything and millions of kids will consume it without any supervision.

  • scarabic@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Andrew Tate should just put on the Taliban turban and be done with this charade. His entire schtick is Sharia for Americans.

  • Carmakazi@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Every teacher I hear from (US) these days basically says the newest generation coming up is completely screwed. Unreal levels of behavioral issues that are not being addressed at home. Complete lack of engagement with the lesson plan, unfinished assignments all over. They need to curve grades left and right just to get the majority of the class to pass. The parents are more emboldened than ever to make the teachers’ lives hell over things they know nothing about and refuse to take responsibility for.

    It’s easy to brush it off as the standard generational nose-thumbing…but this seems different. Something is really breaking down and I think social media is at the center of it.

    • reddig33@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      It’s a shame teachers are pressured to “curve grade” rather than just flunk these people and hold them back a grade.

      • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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        4 days ago

        Schools now lose funding when kids don’t pass, so admins press teachers to move them along.

      • Carmakazi@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        Many if not all school districts in the States have their funding tied to their performance, so there is a negative incentive to make grades look good. My elementary school tried to place me in their Special Ed program because my grades would have brought the average up there.

        Plus, holding back 60, 70, 80% of an entire class just isn’t logistically feasible in most cases.

    • Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Something is really breaking down and I think social media is at the center of it.

      I feel like you could apply this to almost every societal crisis we’re facing. It’s like social media took every little crack in the foundation and turned it into a chasm.

      • Inaminate_Carbon_Rod@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Parents in Facebook echo chambers trying to discover who to blame for their child’s shitty behaviour then getting into arguments when they are told to perhaps get off their phone and speak to their child.

        Children in Facebook echo chambers where they make their neurodivergence their entire personality while simultaneously excusing any and all behaviour due to it.

        If both groups spoke to each other a lot could be changed.

    • uienia@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      It is different, because never in human history has it been easier to influence people. We are literally addicted, as in the brain is literally addicted, to our little disinformation device, the output of which is largely controlled by malicious powerful entities. Now add impressionable young brains to the mix.

      It is a pretty terrible scenario with no obvious solution.

    • Wanpieserino@lemm.ee
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      4 days ago

      Those damn machines, impacting the youth!

      Those damn newspapers, impacting the youth!

      Those damn radios, impacting the youth!

      Those damn TVs, impacting the youth!

      Those damn internet connected computers, impacting the youth!

      Those damn smartphones, impacting the youth!

      Those damn AI models, impacting the youth!

      • InvertedParallax@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        Our youth now love luxury, they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders, and they love to chatter instead of exercise. Children are now tyrants not servants of their household. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.

        • theangryseal@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Thousands of years of this stuff.

          I’m probably just another old idiot who can’t see things for what they really are, but social media does scare the hell out of me. It’s hard to imagine it being a good thing when personalities are shaped by algorithms that exist entirely to drive engagement so a company makes a buck.

          It isn’t just rich chocolaty ovaltine. The kid isn’t being brainwashed to drink a sugary drink from time to time. The kid is a constant revenue stream.

    • someguy3@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I’ll broaden it to not just social media, but the totality of endless scrolling social media, plus endless access to narcissist “influencers”, plus addicting video games (inspired by gambling patterns), plus must watch addicting TV shows and movies on demand. A lot of this is endless dopamine machine. Add in both parents working and only children with no siblings is less socialization.

    • Wanderer@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      Probably going to get slated for this but surely at some point we need to accept our being all nice and friendly all the time just doesn’t work.

      Like if kids are this bad send them off to military school for a month till they shape up. Happens again 6 months, then 12. Government mandated, parents don’t like it, they can look after their kids better.

      People are absolute shits and don’t give a fuck about others or their future. No amount of “please pay attention or you won’t understand algebra and won’t get a good job” will do anything, you will just get “Why do i need to learn algebra! I’ll never use that. John just told me to shut up, what am I meant to do? Just let him disrespect me like that. You should be talking to John!”

      Fuck them. Make them do press ups in the rain see if they learn to shut up then.

        • Wanderer@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          Maybe less than all the murderers we have now. Being straightened out by the military is a well known phenomenon. We can’t keep doing the same things when trends are showing they aren’t working, then expect them to work better. Something needs to be changed.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Social media is definitely a big thing, even if it’s not the only thing.

      I believe it has two parts. The technology can personalize content and optimize for engagement, so it’s more addicting than traditional media could ever be.

      And the jackasses making content have no accountability or editorial standards whatsoever. They churn out whatever clicks and they’re willing to lie, incite, and gaslight their way through it.

      Combine the low content standards with the high addiction factor and you have a ticking time bomb. Or maybe it already went off and we’re just looking around at the crater left behind.

    • saltesc@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      lol, and here’s me thinking I’ll get to finally loosen these bootstraps one day. Wouldn’t be Millennial difficulty if something nice happened for once, so why should I expect reprieve in retirement age? Probably just be anxious af anyway because not being abused by another generation seems too good to be true.