Online influencers such as Andrew Tate are fuelling an increase in sexism in the classroom, says a new survey from education union the NASUWT. It comes after the Netflix series Adolescence thrust concerns around incel culture into the spotlight.

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.”

  • @[email protected]English
    1•2 months ago

    It’s not social medias fault. This is POOR PARENTING. Plain and simple.

    Sounds like absolving social media to me.

    The complexity of social media engineering and the scope of its impact is unprecedented. It’s not at all the same thing as video game or TV panic. When you account for how much real-life peer discussion is driven by these platforms, protecting your child from this toxic rhetoric is nearly impossible.

    You used to have to show your ID to rent a movie in person, why is doing it online any different? If you (rightfully) are concerned about data collection and surveillance, push for legeslative protections on that topic. This is a completely separate issue with a very clear root cause.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•2 months ago

        The solution is to give those laws teeth. Harsh regulations on platforms that serve unmoderated content open to everyone. Enforce transparency on content serving algorithms. Massive penalties for security breaches. Ban platforms that don’t comply.

        If you’re worried about state actors having access to your clearnet data, that’s pretty much unavoidable in the internet age. You can lessen that by pushing against the digitization of society. You shouldn’t need a smart phone or internet service to live daily life.

        Support brick-and-mortar stores, your local library, a local hobby group. Campaign against always-online car features, IoT e-waste, traffic surveillance laws, etc… Don’t make me choose between subjecting children to a stream of unregulated bullshit and the right to privacy. It’s a false dichotomy propped up by our need for digital convenience.

          • @[email protected]English
            1•2 months ago

            Why does every country on earth need to do it? Will a massive majority of the population switch to VPNs just to watch some YouTube videos? Is that any different from kids trying to circumvent other age gated activities? Does YouTube even want that VPN traffic if it makes them less money? Why not just ban smart phones for kids?

            What measures do you need to enforce it beyond what already exists? The only ones that matter are massive mega-platforms. If a platform isn’t complying just punish it.

            The main question is how much of your life really needs to exist in a digital space? People paid bills, shopped, watched porn, played games and read news before the internet. Democracy falls when an entire generation of voters is raised on supporting Tate-endorsed fascism. This is not a non-issue. It’s happening no matter how much you tut-tut everyone’s parenting.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•2 months ago

        Because that data is stored and passed on to third parties in most cases. Because data breeches are a common occurrence nowadays. Because gorvernments and companies can use that data against you later on.

        I’m just curious… How did you sign up for internet service? Can you walk me through the process?

          • @[email protected]English
            2•2 months ago

            Sighs.

            SIGHS.

            YouTube isn’t the police.
            Verifying your age to access adult/mature content isn’t some novel concept. We absolutely can come up with a way to do this online that at least mitigates the risk of leaked/stolen data to an acceptable level. Doing nothing at all and just letting kids access anything they want on the internet is not a solution, and hiding behind “freedom” as an excuse to abdicate social responsibility is lazy.

              • @[email protected]English
                1•2 months ago

                This feels exactly like people fighting against gun control while schools are shot up on the regular. Get over your individualism and sparkling ideals and realize that something has to be done. If your privacy and personal freedom are tied to Facebook and Twitter, maybe that’s a you problem.

              • @[email protected]English
                2•2 months ago

                Encroaching on privacy and hiding behind the idea of “protecting kids” as an excuse to take away from your liberty and private life is lazy.

                Go ahead and point out where I said your liberty should be taken away. Using the internet is not an inherent right.

                If you want to protect your child from what they might find on the internet, then spend time with them. Don’t pawn this off to the state.

                I never mentioned the state. This is like blaming the opioid epidemic on the addict and alleviating Purdue of all responsibility. No amount of personal accountability is going to fix the problem while multi-billion dollar corporations pump an addictive and harmful product into society 24/7.