One in three teenage boys in a new study said they followed Andrew Tate. But the study’s most startling finding was closer, quieter and probably sitting at the dinner table: the gender rules boys see modeled at home may matter more than any single influencer in their feed.
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Michigan analyzed cell phone responses from 601 boys ages 13 to 17. The survey asked who the teens followed online, how masculine they believed themselves to be, and what messages about gender they encountered from parents or guardians.
The numbers behind the feeds
The researchers asked whether the boys followed two controversial figures associated with the manosphere, an online space known for misogynistic rhetoric and rigid ideas about masculinity. About 33% said they followed Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist who is being held in a federal detention center while facing sex-trafficking and rape charges. Another 11% followed Jordan Peterson, a psychologist known for anti-feminist and sexist ideas.
The teens also named their three favorite social media influencers. When researchers compared those names with a list of manosphere-aligned influencers, fewer than 10% had one in their top three. So following Tate or Peterson did not necessarily mean a manosphere creator was the teen’s favorite online personality.
The boys rated how masculine they felt on a scale from 1 to 5. They also answered questions about their mood, including depression and hostility. Those measures were roughly the same whether or not a teen was involved with the manosphere. As a group, the boys who followed these creators were not more depressed or hostile.
What did stand out was a connection between following manosphere creators, hearing stricter gender expectations at home and rating themselves higher on the masculinity scale.
The household connection was stronger than whether a boy followed Tate or Peterson. Boys whose parents adhered to strict gender norms were up to three times more likely to hold similar views and fall under the influence of the manosphere.
That is an association, not proof that a household caused any one boy’s beliefs. The study cannot show that a parent’s behavior directly sent a teenager toward a particular influencer. But it does suggest that the loudest online message may not be the first one a teenager hears.
The rules kids absorb
Jami Dumler, a licensed clinical social worker and director of clinical programs at Thriveworks, was not involved in the research and said the finding made sense to her. Boys may encounter rigid ideas about gender online, she said, but they may also pick them up at home, even when nobody is using language as extreme as Tate’s or Peterson’s.
Dumler pointed to the small signals families send every day. How do the men in the household handle emotion? Is it acceptable for them to cry or admit they are struggling? Are men expected to meet one set of standards while women are held to another? Nobody has to deliver a speech about gender roles for those patterns to register.
“It starts with the guardians and caregivers,” Dumler said. “Wherever we can improve our modeling, it’s going to go a long way because children soak that in.”
The study did have important limitations. Researchers did not ask why the boys followed the influencers. Some may have been genuine fans; others may have been “hate-following” them to criticize or monitor their content. And because the researchers collected responses only once, they could not tell whether the participants’ views changed over time.
For caregivers worried about a teen’s feed, Dumler’s advice starts with the part that can be hardest when the content is infuriating: stay curious. Leading with a lecture or judgment may make a boy less willing to explain what he actually thinks.
A conversation, not a courtroom
The goal is connection and understanding, while giving a teenager room to develop his own judgment. Teens want control over their thoughts and lives, Dumler said. Caregivers can support that independence while still making clear how people in the household are expected to treat one another.
If a teenager is following a troubling figure, Dumler recommends open-ended questions that let him take the lead. A parent might say, “I’ve seen this topic pop up a lot, but I don’t know much about it. Do you?” Or: “Can you teach me about this public figure? What does he say?”
Those questions can reveal what the content means to that particular teen instead of leaving adults to guess based on a follow, a viral clip or a frightening headline.
Routine one-on-one time can make these conversations feel less like an emergency hearing. Dumler suggested setting up regular time together, such as a weekly drive to practice with a grandfather or a monthly donut breakfast with a dad. A predictable routine gives a teen a safer opening before a concern turns into a full-blown family argument.
It can also help to talk while doing something else: walking, fishing, throwing a football around or driving. That side-by-side setup takes some pressure off the conversation. If a teen shares a misogynistic belief, an adult does not always have to turn the moment into a direct fight over who is right. They can listen, state the household’s expectations and keep the door open.
Teenagers are still developing their ability to think critically, Dumler said. More family time, less screen time and more positive interactions can support that development. A parent does not have to win a debate over every online claim to show a teenager how people in the family treat one another.
Social media figures like Tate and Peterson are built to grab attention. The daily behavior of a dad, uncle or grandfather is less dramatic, but it is part of what a teenager learns to see as normal. A follow may be easy to count. The harder-to-measure influence is what happens at home, over and over again.
What messages about masculinity do you think teenagers pick up most from the adults around them?
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Michigan analyzed cell phone responses from 601 boys ages 13 to 17. The survey asked who the teens followed online, how masculine they believed themselves to be, and what messages about gender they encountered from parents or guardians.
The numbers behind the feeds
The researchers asked whether the boys followed two controversial figures associated with the manosphere, an online space known for misogynistic rhetoric and rigid ideas about masculinity. About 33% said they followed Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist who is being held in a federal detention center while facing sex-trafficking and rape charges. Another 11% followed Jordan Peterson, a psychologist known for anti-feminist and sexist ideas.
The teens also named their three favorite social media influencers. When researchers compared those names with a list of manosphere-aligned influencers, fewer than 10% had one in their top three. So following Tate or Peterson did not necessarily mean a manosphere creator was the teen’s favorite online personality.
The boys rated how masculine they felt on a scale from 1 to 5. They also answered questions about their mood, including depression and hostility. Those measures were roughly the same whether or not a teen was involved with the manosphere. As a group, the boys who followed these creators were not more depressed or hostile.
What did stand out was a connection between following manosphere creators, hearing stricter gender expectations at home and rating themselves higher on the masculinity scale.
The household connection was stronger than whether a boy followed Tate or Peterson. Boys whose parents adhered to strict gender norms were up to three times more likely to hold similar views and fall under the influence of the manosphere.
That is an association, not proof that a household caused any one boy’s beliefs. The study cannot show that a parent’s behavior directly sent a teenager toward a particular influencer. But it does suggest that the loudest online message may not be the first one a teenager hears.
The rules kids absorb
Jami Dumler, a licensed clinical social worker and director of clinical programs at Thriveworks, was not involved in the research and said the finding made sense to her. Boys may encounter rigid ideas about gender online, she said, but they may also pick them up at home, even when nobody is using language as extreme as Tate’s or Peterson’s.
Dumler pointed to the small signals families send every day. How do the men in the household handle emotion? Is it acceptable for them to cry or admit they are struggling? Are men expected to meet one set of standards while women are held to another? Nobody has to deliver a speech about gender roles for those patterns to register.
“It starts with the guardians and caregivers,” Dumler said. “Wherever we can improve our modeling, it’s going to go a long way because children soak that in.”
The study did have important limitations. Researchers did not ask why the boys followed the influencers. Some may have been genuine fans; others may have been “hate-following” them to criticize or monitor their content. And because the researchers collected responses only once, they could not tell whether the participants’ views changed over time.
For caregivers worried about a teen’s feed, Dumler’s advice starts with the part that can be hardest when the content is infuriating: stay curious. Leading with a lecture or judgment may make a boy less willing to explain what he actually thinks.
A conversation, not a courtroom
The goal is connection and understanding, while giving a teenager room to develop his own judgment. Teens want control over their thoughts and lives, Dumler said. Caregivers can support that independence while still making clear how people in the household are expected to treat one another.
If a teenager is following a troubling figure, Dumler recommends open-ended questions that let him take the lead. A parent might say, “I’ve seen this topic pop up a lot, but I don’t know much about it. Do you?” Or: “Can you teach me about this public figure? What does he say?”
Those questions can reveal what the content means to that particular teen instead of leaving adults to guess based on a follow, a viral clip or a frightening headline.
Routine one-on-one time can make these conversations feel less like an emergency hearing. Dumler suggested setting up regular time together, such as a weekly drive to practice with a grandfather or a monthly donut breakfast with a dad. A predictable routine gives a teen a safer opening before a concern turns into a full-blown family argument.
It can also help to talk while doing something else: walking, fishing, throwing a football around or driving. That side-by-side setup takes some pressure off the conversation. If a teen shares a misogynistic belief, an adult does not always have to turn the moment into a direct fight over who is right. They can listen, state the household’s expectations and keep the door open.
Teenagers are still developing their ability to think critically, Dumler said. More family time, less screen time and more positive interactions can support that development. A parent does not have to win a debate over every online claim to show a teenager how people in the family treat one another.
Social media figures like Tate and Peterson are built to grab attention. The daily behavior of a dad, uncle or grandfather is less dramatic, but it is part of what a teenager learns to see as normal. A follow may be easy to count. The harder-to-measure influence is what happens at home, over and over again.
What messages about masculinity do you think teenagers pick up most from the adults around them?