When I look at the world young men are growing up in today and compare it to the one I grew up in, I feel bad for them. Some of that is for economic reasons because the generations before them have run up so much debt. Some of it is because the country has been mismanaged so badly over the past couple of decades that we seem like we’re barely holding it together as a nation. However, a lot of it is just cultural. It’s harder to be a young man today then it was when I was a young man for a lot of different reasons.
1) Our society trashes masculinity: Our society incessantly pushes young men to act like women, then as an extra added bonus, often mocks and punishes them when they do. In a culture starved for masculine men, there are neverending attempts to reinvent “masculinity” as a pale, inferior imitation of womanhood.
2) Dating misery: Men are given endless mixed messages about dating. Share your feelings with a woman you care about followed by what kind of weakling feels like that? Women are strong and can do anything men can do, but women also need to be coddled, protected, and helped at every opportunity. Being chivalrous is good… and sexist. Don’t be afraid to commit, but if she decides to divorce you, she gets half of everything you worked for and a big child support payment. You need to initiate dates and sexual encounters, but anything a woman later decides she doesn’t like might be considered sexual assault. Essentially, you just have to cross your fingers, break the rules all the time and hope it works out.
3) Social media: Social media has turned everyone into a brand. This leads to non-stop virtue signaling, clout chasing and doing things because of how it will APPEAR to other people, not because it’s what people really want to do. In a real sense, it has made everyone less genuine, less authentic, and for the most part, less happy, too.