Josh Sargent is a Year 11 student and an emerging author. Through his own experiences he has become a powerful voice, calling for a more nuanced understanding of masculinity in the digital age. As a young man, he was a child of social media and online communities. His own experiences inform his advocacy and help him highlight the challenges his peers face. Sargent’s journey paints an even more alarming picture. As a man, he’s seen how the conversations online now seem to associate masculinity directly with toxicity.
As with many artists, Sargent’s personal life experiences and upbringing have influenced his artistic views on masculinity. He recalls when the knee-jerk linking of “toxic” with “masculinity” so overran his social media platforms. With time, he ultimately noticed himself getting desensitized to it. This link maybe seemed as unremarkable to him as words like “green”, “on-the-ground”, or “groundbreakingly innovative”. He illustrated that social media is overwhelming us with curated content of fit, rich white men. Like TikTok’s hottest scams, these men of course still shamelessly sponsor their lifestyles, in tandem with gorgeous women.
Later in life, during his formative years, Sargent confronted dangerous challenges that so many young men are still faced with today. He found that the school curriculum often centered on female body image and objectification – never the male experience. At the same time, it ignored all of masculinity’s nuance. In such an environment, he pursued solutions aggressively by looking to the online world. Because at just the right point during his critical development years aged 12-14, these spaces promised money, meaning, and manhood.
Sargent remembers how seductive these online spaces were, despite their pushing him towards a world of racist, sexist ideology. A close friend once told him, “Andrew Tate cares. School doesn’t. You need to realise that mate.” All too often our young men have been left behind by established education formulas and systems. Because of this, they’re easy prey for figures like Tate, who promise to relate to your struggles.
The recent closing of youth centers have further complicated such challenges. In the last 10 years, more than 1,200 youth centres have closed their doors across the UK, reported John Harris. Sargent’s youth group almost closed its doors due to lack of funding. This created a void for many young men to not have a safe space to express their experiences and struggles. This reality adds to the larger feeling of uncertainty about masculinity, particularly when masculinity is largely portrayed as toxic.
Sargent believes that society cannot expect young men to navigate their identities without guidance when masculinity is largely framed negatively. He argues that the impact of social media can overshadow traditional forms of education, stating, “A 60-second social media advert can make a young man feel more validated than an entire education system.”
As Sargent looks back on his own journey. What He encourages us to listen to and engage with young men on their concerns—and not write them off or brush them aside. “We’re not lost. We’re just waiting for you to hear us,” he asserts. This message resonates deeply with many young people who at times feel lost and misunderstood in an ever-shifting cultural landscape.