Understanding the psychology of the manosphere and how to protect young people from its negative influence

Objective

In the last 10 years, online misogyny has increased at an alarming rate. Social media influencers within the ‘manosphere’ preach that women are fundamentally inferior to men and ought to be subordinated to them. Women are derogated as innately illogical, greedy and scheming. These attributions are used to justify harassment, coercive control and discrimination. Teenagers, who get much of their news and entertainment from social media, are bombarded with this content on a daily basis. Teachers, parents and elected officials report grave concerns about the ways in which misogynistic influencers are affecting the attitudes of young people, particularly teenage boys. Developmental psychology provides a solid foundation for understanding the emergence of gender stereotypes and attitudes across childhood. However, it has struggled to keep pace with the rapidly expanding influence of social media and how it is affecting young people. A novel approach is needed. HATESHIELD will uncover the social dynamics of the manosphere and use this understanding to protect young people from its negative influence. The project will achieve four aims. First, use cutting-edge methods from AI to characterise the nature of adolescents’ interaction with online misogyny and pinpoint the age at which they are at greatest risk of exposure. Second, understand how interaction with online misogyny predicts changes in adolescents’ gender attitudes, homophobia and self-worth over time. Third, develop and rigorously evaluate strategies to prepare young adolescents (aged 12 – 13) to critically engage with online misogyny. Finally, develop and rigorously evaluate strategies to mitigate the deleterious effects of online misogyny on young adults (aged 18 – 25) who have already embraced some of its key messages.