A new U.S. study finds that a substantial minority of teenage boys engage with figures associated with the so-called manosphere, with those who follow Andrew Tate or Jordan Peterson more likely to hold traditional beliefs about manhood. The research, conducted with 601 boys aged 13 to 17, suggests that Tate followers, in particular, show stronger adherence to traditional masculine norms even after accounting for home messages about gender and how masculine the boys perceive themselves to be.
The manosphere refers to a loose network of online spaces created around male interests, often painting women or feminism as threats to men’s status. Researchers describe many of its content creators as “manfluencers” who typically promote hegemonic masculinity—an idealised form of manhood marked by power, physical toughness, emotional stoicism and the subordination of femininity.
The project builds on earlier work that has traced the reach of these online ideas. In London, a 2024 focus group study found some 13- and 14-year-olds drawn to Tate’s mix of anti-feminist commentary and dating and money advice, while a Swedish study in the same year linked following more manfluencers with dehumanising views of women. A separate 2025 Common Sense Media report, though not peer‑reviewed, reported that more masculinity-focused content correlated with traditional views, albeit without probing specific figures or parental influences.
The study was led by Erica Scharrer, a professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and involved colleagues L. Monique Ward of the University of Michigan and Brenda L. Volling. Scharrer explained that while concerns about the manosphere’s impact on adolescent boys had been prominent, there were no quantitative investigations addressing the issue until now.
To explore real-world dynamics, the researchers surveyed 601 adolescent boys across the United States. Participants were recruited via online panels managed by Qualtrics, with parental consent and youth assent, and completed the questions privately on their mobile devices. The sample was balanced to reflect different ages, racial backgrounds and geographic regions.
Engagement with the manosphere was measured in two ways. First, boys were asked directly how often they followed two well‑known commentators: Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson. Second, participants were asked to name their favourite celebrity and their top three favourite social media stars, with those names cross‑referenced against a list of 31 manosphere‑linked figures drawn from news and scholarly sources.
All participants completed standard psychological questionnaires assessing traditional masculinity beliefs, caregiver messages about gender roles, self-rated masculinity on a 1-to-5 scale, and experiences of social support, depressive symptoms and hostility.
The findings show that about one in three boys (33.2 percent) reported following Andrew Tate at least a little, and 11.6 percent reported following Jordan Peterson. By contrast, only around 9 percent named a manosphere figure among their absolute favourites. The authors describe this as encouraging, noting the manosphere figures did not dominate the open-ended responses.
Boys who showed affinity for manosphere personalities reported receiving more parental messages about traditional gender expectations and physical toughness, and they rated their own masculinity higher than their peers. However, there were no significant differences in age, race, weekly time spent watching YouTube, or levels of hostility, depression or perceived social support.
Even before adjusting for other factors, all three measures of manosphere engagement correlated with stronger traditional masculinity beliefs. For example, those who named a manosphere figure as a favourite scored higher on a 7‑point scale of traditional masculinity beliefs than their peers.
When the researchers adjusted for age, self‑perceived masculinity and parental messages, following Andrew Tate remained a positive predictor across every measure of traditional masculinity ideology. Following Peterson also predicted greater support for male toughness, dominance and relationship‑specific masculinity norms, though it did not predict anti‑femininity. An affinity for manosphere figures on the open‑ended list predicted beliefs about physical toughness but was not linked to emotional detachment or anti‑femininity after accounting for the other variables.
Parental messages urging boys to be “big and tough” emerged as the strongest predictor in every model, carrying roughly two to three times the weight of following Tate; following Peterson was a weaker predictor than Tate. Younger boys tended to hold more traditional beliefs than older ones. Collectively, the predictors explained around 37 to 44 percent of the observed variation in overall traditional masculinity scores.
“Our study cannot show causality, but our data do show that in our sample of teen boys, following manosphere influencers online goes hand in hand with having narrow, stereotypical conceptions of masculinity,” Scharrer noted.
The researchers point to parallels with the Swedish study reported earlier, which looked at misogyny and dehumanisation of women among older young men rather than traditional masculinity in American teenagers.
As with any study, there are caveats. The cross‑sectional design cannot determine whether watching these creators causes traditional beliefs, or if boys who already favour traditional roles gravitate toward compatible content. The authors also emphasise that online manosphere figures vary widely, from financial self‑help to overt anti‑feminism, so different viewers may be responding to different messages. The survey captured whether boys followed these figures but not why, and the 33 percent figure includes those who said they followed Tate only “a little.”
Recruitment via online survey panels can introduce selection biases, since participating families may not reflect the broader adolescent population. Looking forward, the team recommends longitudinal work tracking the same cohort over time, with direct measures of misogynistic attitudes and a closer examination of why teens choose to follow these online personalities.
The study, titled Following Manosphere Influencers and Endorsement of Traditional Masculinity Beliefs Among Adolescent Boys, was authored by Erica Scharrer, L. Monique Ward and Brenda L. Volling.
