Mental Health and Violent Misogyny Online

Step Together’s projects team recently conducted some research into this topic to better understand the growing area of concern and the effect on mental health in broader society and online. See the findings below:

Research overview as at May 2024

Executive Summary:

Online misogyny is when the internet and related technologies are used as tools to target, harm and express hatred towards women. This can include (and often starts with) sharing sexist attitudes, jokes and memes, or serious threats or inciting violence against women.

The United Nations reports that 73% of women online have been exposed to online abuse and that women are 27 times more likely to experience online harassment than men. The online abuse that younger women (ages 18-24) experience often includes more dangerous forms of stalking and violence.

Violent misogyny often occurs within the ‘Manosphere’ –a network of online men’s communities who blame women and feminists for all sorts of problems in society. While most studies focus on younger cohort, we are increasingly seeing a cohort of radicalized and angry men in middle age.

There are not enough significant studies into the impact of online misogyny on Men’s Mental Health. Focus has been on the external impacts of this content, as well as the range of push, pull and personal factors that lead men to engage online (and it therefore is hard to isolate the mental health component). One small study in 2018, of 400 US based participants, indicated that social media use and toxic masculinity were associated with depression, however there is opportunity for more research on the different ways men engage with this content, and the direct impact on their mental health.

Below are key findings into the pull of online misogyny, the impact of misogyny and sexism on men and women’s’ mental health in broader society and online, the power of algorithms as a driver, Incels, Andrew Tate and influencers, and the link between online and offline misogyny. We then look briefly at initial opportunities for research.

Key Findings: 

The Pull of Online Misogyny

•  Dangerous misogynistic ideologies are solidified by the Internet’s echo-chamber effect, where high dosages of violent, anti-feminist content that are consumed regularly become seen as normal
• As with all social health issues, a range of push, pull and personal factors influence engagement with online misogynistic content
• Content that appeals to young men - in particular humour and memes - is a huge driver and key entry point in the pathway to misogynistic content
• Jokes about sexual humiliation and sexual violence against girls and women are shared widely among young people on popular platforms like TikTok
• Research shows sensational inaccurate ideas are more likely to spread on social media than sensible truths
• Some men who engage with the manosphere are sometimes unhappy and lonely, and searching for a sense of belonging, and adopt misogynistic attitudes and values because the sense of community outweighs any doubts they may have about these views
• However, other men are fed this content without searching for it – just purely based on their age and gender 
• Young boys believe online content has made misogyny worse –they are mostly wanting healthy relationships with women, and are finding it difficult to know how to go about this, and are uncertain of their place in society (this uncertainty is then used by online misogynists who present sexist ideals as the solution)

Social Media, Algorithms & Drivers

• The online environment exacerbates existing biases but also creates rabbit holes
• Social media and algorithms push misogynistic content to young men, even if they are not searching for it
• The majority of boys aged 11-14 have been exposed to online content that promotes misogyny
• This content is often being seen when users were searching for other, innocent material, such as fitness or gaming content
• It takes on average 23 minutes of video watching on TikTok and YouTube Shorts for young men to be recommended toxic or misogynistic content according to a Dublin City Uni study. The ‘dummy’ accounts in the research were all directed to show the search interests of 16 and 18-year-old boys, like sports or video games, and only some accounts purposely looked for misogynistic content
• All accounts were shown misogynistic content within 23 minutes, even if they weren’t searching for it – those searching for it were shown content more quickly
• The study also found a link between ‘manfluencer’ videos and right-wing conspiracy content
• The report identified three major themes of the content - “crisis narratives, like masculinity and the “nuclear family” being under threat; motivational videos that convince men that emotion or depression can be emasculating; or debunked gender science videos that show concepts from evolutionary psychology that men and women are “hardwired” for different gender roles”
• The large scale Safer scrolling research from the University of Kent also found a fourfold increase in the level of misogynistic content in the “For You” page of TikTok accounts over just five days on the platform, in an algorithmic modelling study. The research started by putting in "loneliness" and self-improvement" as search terms. They found boys suffering from poor mental health, bullying, or anxieties about their future are at heightened risk. Initial content often looked at themes of loneliness or self-improvement, and the longer they were on the app the more the content focused on anger, blame and misogyny
• Other research has found violent porn is a key driver in misogyny 

Andrew Tate (as key online influencer)

• The Man Cave study in 2023 found that over one-third of boys (35%) reported ‘relating’ to Tate and a quarter (25%) reported ‘looking up to him as a role model’. The research found 4 overarching themes as to why: They found:

1. He has an inspirational work ethic “I think he is right in the sense that you have to have a killer mentality to get where you want to be”

2. He voices relatable opinions and beliefs about the world “He has right opinions and knows what he’s talking about”

3. He is a brave, confident and caring person “Being so confident about himself and being so brave to fight for what he feels is right”

4. He defends men and traditional male values “I can relate to having to step up as a man and provide for others”

However, some (10%) of the boys admired his motivation and his strong work ethic but rejected his views about women. Tate can bring boys into his worldview through some aspects that initially appeal and then provide a pathway to misogyny.

• Research by Women’s Aid in the UK found that young people who consume misogynist content on social media, including Andrew Tate’s, had significantly more harmful understandings of relationships, and greater tolerance of doing harm within their relationships

Incels

• Vulnerable young men with mental health and belonging issues find their sense of strength and belonging in violent misogynistic content
• Incels  self-declare that they have mental health and trauma issues – but this cannot always be verified as they see this as badge of honour so might self diagnose. Some think depression etc. can be solved if they find a relationship with women, while others think this means they will be alone forever
• Loneliness and anger are both drivers of engagement with incel content
• There is also a link between gendered violence, VE and misogyny to a certain extent, with a common psychology of male violence, and grievances against women

Impact on Men’s Mental Health – off and online

• Sexist attitudes and traditional masculinity are linked with depression and mental health issues
• The Man Box study found men “with a high level of endorsement of hypersexuality, rigid gender roles and aggression and control also often adopt other masculine norms, potentially leading to a harmful mix in terms of violent behaviours and mental ill-health”
• Men with greater misogynistic attitudes can be more likely to engage in substance use and have poor mental health outcomes
• Mental health issues among young people in general seem to be increasing (an Australian 2023 study showed similar rates of anxiety and mood disorders among the general population to 2017 results, but an increase in those aged 16-24)
• Low self-esteem can increase the likelihood of someone leaning into the ideology of toxic masculinity online
• A small study linked social media use and toxic masculinity to depression

Impact on Women’s Mental Health – off and online

• Young women who experience sexism are 5 times more likely to suffer from clinical depression, according to research from University College London. The higher rate of mental ill health compares to those who said they had not experienced sexism
• There is an impact on women’s mental health of violent misogynistic content, and on the way they see themselves in the offline world
• Research showed that 62% of women who said they had experienced online abuse or harassment said they had experienced lower self-esteem or loss of self-confidence as a result. 59% said they had experienced stress, anxiety or panic attacks after experiencing online abuse or harassment

Link between online and offline world

• Mainstreaming of misogynistic and violent content may lead to these attitudes and behaviours becoming normalised
• Some evidence suggests there are links between discriminatory gender norms among adolescent boys and young men, and consuming sexist content online. However, there is not a simple cause and effect’ relationship between social media use and harmful gender attitudes
• Online violence has offline implications for women. There is often a continuum between online and offline abuse. Trolling, verbal abuse, sextortion, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, the manipulation of photos, cyberstalking, doxxing and hacking are experienced both on- and offline
• Interviews with young people and school leaders, for the safer scrolling algorithm research, found that hateful ideologies and misogyny have moved off screens and into schools and mainstream youth cultures