Crisis of boys and young men

Haidt, citing Richard Reeves, says the gap between boys and girls is largest in the bottom half of the income distribution.

“as we go down in social class, it's the boys that are really, really dropping off. So that in the bottom half, economically, we see a huge gap between boys and girls”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 33:36

Haidt claims many young men are effectively consigned to unmarriageability because their capacity to pursue long-term goals has been damaged.

“a lot of our boys are basically consigned to unmarriageability because they've been damaged by this and they don't have the ability to really pursue long-term goals”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 29:36

Haidt uses a metaphor of a thousand baited fishing hooks descending on a boy to describe the commercial competition for his attention.

“for boys, it's open season on their dopamine system. Open season, companies are sending out fishing fleets to try to suck out all the dopamine”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 28:01

Haidt says the thing to watch for boys is not social media specifically but quick dopamine from gambling, porn, and video games carried in their pocket.

“For boys, the thing to keep your eye on isn't necessarily social media. It's quick dopamine. Boys now have a slot machine, a porn theater, a video game parlor”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 12:50

Jesse Kelly says he deliberately arranged menial summer jobs for his son so he learns to endure bad bosses and poor pay.

“for crappy pay and it's going to be outstanding for him because one day he's going to have a job at 25 26 that may not be ideal”

The Megyn Kelly Show: CNN Identity Crisis, and How Boys Become Men, with Jesse Kelly, and New Nancy Guthrie Timeline Questions, with James Hamilton and Maureen O'Connell | Ep. 1283 (Mar 27, 2026) · Listen from 1:23:27

Jesse Kelly argues that confidence can only be earned through enduring hard experiences, not through praise or reading.

“Nid ydych chi'n gallu caru eich ffordd i mewn i hynny neu dweud wrthyn nhw eich bod chi'n gyffredinol eich ffordd i mewn i hynny”

The Megyn Kelly Show: CNN Identity Crisis, and How Boys Become Men, with Jesse Kelly, and New Nancy Guthrie Timeline Questions, with James Hamilton and Maureen O'Connell | Ep. 1283 (Mar 27, 2026) · Listen from 1:18:56

Jesse Kelly argues that men crying on television is now normalized but that men should show strength rather than emotional display.

“Yr unig bobl sydd eisiau gweld y sgwrs hwnnw yw dynion unigol sydd wedi cael eu llwyddo ar Xanax”

The Megyn Kelly Show: CNN Identity Crisis, and How Boys Become Men, with Jesse Kelly, and New Nancy Guthrie Timeline Questions, with James Hamilton and Maureen O'Connell | Ep. 1283 (Mar 27, 2026) · Listen from 1:10:26

Adams argues that men who passively wait for the dating landscape to change, which he calls the hope strategy, will be permanently isolated.

“These men are going to be completely isolated from the dating marketplace for good because they're hoping and I call it the hope strategy”

Digital Social Hour: Dating Coach Reveals What Most Men Refuse To Accept | DSH #2035 (Jun 26, 2026) · Listen from 6:25

Patel argued Me Too and feminism have alienated young men and blurred traditional gender roles.

“Me Too has very much disenfranchised young men among many other movements, feminism being one of them”

The Megyn Kelly Show: New Video of WHCD Shooter, and Major Questions About Male Accuser in JP Morgan Exec Story, with Buck Sexton, Isabel Brown, and Priya Patel | Ep. 1308 (May 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:24:00

Kelly said she would address falling sex and birth rates by empowering young men to pursue dating assertively.

“I would start with young men and, and like making them feel empowered to ask for a date”

The Megyn Kelly Show: New Video of WHCD Shooter, and Major Questions About Male Accuser in JP Morgan Exec Story, with Buck Sexton, Isabel Brown, and Priya Patel | Ep. 1308 (May 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:23:34

Sonoiki argued that a decade of anti-male rhetoric drove young men rightward and created demand for manosphere figures.

“I think it's men feeling like, they've been chased out or they've been painted as the enemy”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Iran Deal Risks and Fallout, with Curt Mills and Mark Halperin, Plus Jennifer Newsom's Wild Comments, with Damilare Sonoiki and Stepfanie Tyler | Ep. 1291 (Apr 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:25:37