this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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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."

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I read this and thought something didn't add up. If all Tate ever did was disrespect women and treat them like property, nobody would care about him. Unsurprisingly, the truth is more complicated. See this for example.

The manosphere appeals to its audience because it speaks to the very real lives of young men [. . .] romantic rejection, alienation, economic failure, loneliness, and a dim vision of the future.

The major problem lies in its diagnosis of the cause of male disenfranchisement, which fixates on the impacts of feminism. Here it contrasts the growing challenges faced by men with the increasing social, economic and political success experienced by women. This zero-sum claim posits that female empowerment must necessarily equate to male disempowerment, and is evidenced through simplified and pseudoscientific theories of biology and socioeconomics.

If Tate's appeal is not addressed, things will get worse.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

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

[–] [email protected] 350 points 1 week ago (50 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 239 points 1 week ago (3 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 126 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Even when I went to elementary school over 15 years ago in Canada, kids weren't allowed to be held back without written permission from their parents. I thought it was really fucking weird because we literally had a kid whose mom did all of his homework (everyone knew; he had horrible writing and she didn't) and yet refused to put him in a remedial class or have him repeat a year.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 1 week ago (7 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 105 points 1 week ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 week ago (5 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Neither is passing a kid who doesn’t understand the material.

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[–] [email protected] 106 points 1 week ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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.

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[–] [email protected] 148 points 1 week ago (23 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 65 points 1 week ago (6 children)

That's the whole point of screaming about "liberal" or "leftist" media for all this time even when most media outlets are owned by for profit orgs. They usually have to comply with laws. On social media you've been able to lie as much as you want without consequence or being called out. Corporations mostly use this to market to children and get them addicted to gambling.

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[–] [email protected] 131 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Have you ever had a creepy guy who hangs around the school desperately trying to impress little kids? Yeah he's the online version.

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[–] [email protected] 123 points 1 week ago (13 children)

I don't think it is social media. It is much more simple: people can't spend time with each other. Employers keep reducing the wages, while maintaining or increasing the amount of work their employees have to do. This means that workers can't invest time into friends or family, which in turn deprives children of healthy role models.

Jackasses like Tate get to influence the children, because there is a void that has been left empty - Tate has enough wealth and time to fill in for society. Work culture is a ravenous beast, forever chasing workers. If you pause, you lose everything. So you might as well sacrifice the time you could spend with family, since you would lose them anyway if you shirk being a breadwinner.

Optimization for the sake of line going up, inevitably destroys everything that surrounds the pillar that society is forced to worship.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 week ago

I would also include the death of the “third place”. Because even if you work enough to survive, where do you spend your time outside of the home with other people in your community without spending money? Even worse options if you want kids allowed.

One of the only places I know of is the library. But I’d be very surprised by an 8-10 year old boy spending their time at the library.

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[–] [email protected] 110 points 1 week ago (11 children)

Let's not pretend like these children aren't having this behavior reinforced by their parents.

[–] [email protected] 87 points 1 week ago (4 children)

The internet has made it quite easy for kids to develop an "inner life" that their parents have little to no awareness of, regardless of how attentive they are, though it's obviously worse if they are not.

[–] Kecessa 56 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Guess what, it's your job as a parent to keep your kids off the Internet then.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago

That’s it. From what I hear (in Germany) is that the number of students with problematic behavior has increased, yes. That is something teachers can handle, if the parents cooperate or at the very least not interfere.

Unfortunately the number of problematic parents has sharply risen as well. More seem to be taking a page out of the Trump playbook of never admitting anything and going on the offensive instead. They can become quite aggressive and belligerent when their kid faces consequences for their actions, especially if misogyny was involved.

It’s impossible to help these students, if they act out behavior they see at home or, often enough, from their divorced fathers, and are encouraged for it.

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[–] [email protected] 84 points 1 week ago

When I was a kid in the 80s & 90s that's when the parents get brought in.

[–] [email protected] 83 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (16 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 week ago (19 children)

"In a secondary English class last year, a group of boys opted, despite discouragement, to write a persuasive essay on why Andrew Tate is the GOAT (greatest of all time) which included praise of his view that women are a man's property... all of the parents were contacted and were appalled."

When I worked in a middle school a couple years back, I heard the Tate shit there. Had a student who would name their Kahoot something like “[female students name] has a nice ass” and administration would refuse to allow me to impose consequences.

If you are around teen boys, please talk to them about Tate. He’s not someone who should be walking free, and he’s not someone children should be listening to.

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[–] [email protected] 79 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

Gotta remember... This is sky news. Probably fake. Especially since the "survey" doesn't even match the headline.

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.

Wow it seems like everyone here is completely credulous and happy to have their bias confirmed.

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 1 week ago (25 children)

When I was 10, or 13 there were literally no issues like this at all. Well, I didn't even think about girls that much at that age, let alone in overly sexual way, lol.

What the actual fuck is happening with society recently? Is everybody going insane because of social media?

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 week ago

Well the solution to that one 10 year old is pretty clear. Actions have consequences, if he wants to be a little shit he can repeat the grade next year after hard failing this one.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Stories like this are what I think of every time the topic of regulating social media comes up.

We know it's programmed to create rage machines. We do, and then people act surprised when social media works as designed.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago (20 children)

Yall didn’t see this coming with the red pill derived slang that kids have been using? They’re obsessed with their value. It’s terrifying and capitalism loves it.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I truly thought that this Tate guy was a complete character like Borat. I'm floored realizing this is a real "person"? How does anyone care about helping this guy. Oh wait.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 week ago (10 children)

Parents need to raise their children and stop letting social media do it.

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