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Gareth Southgate warns of ‘toxic influencers’ and ‘crisis’ that face ‘isolated’ young men

Gareth Southgate warns of the ‘toxic influencers’ and ‘crisis’ that face a generation of ‘isolated’ young men today.

The former footballer and manager, has recently spoken about a growing concern for young men in Britain, at the Richard Dimbleby lecture, titled “The Beautiful Game: Building Belief and Resilience in a Younger Generation”.

Southgate addressed the detrimental impact of social media and the lack of positive role models on the mental health and development of young men.

He spoke about how alarmed he is at how young men are “suffering” and “feeling isolated,” often turning to online spaces for guidance where they encounter “callous, manipulative, and toxic influencers”, saying these figures, he argued, promoting a distorted view of success, emphasising money, dominance, and emotional suppression while fostering a narrative that the world, including women, is against them.

Southgate suggested that this shift is partly due to a decline in real-world communities and mentorship, leaving young men vulnerable to harmful ideologies and habits such as excessive gaming, gambling, and pornography consumption.

Here’s what he had to say…

“As real-world communities and mentorship declines, young men end up withdrawing, reluctant to talk or express their emotions,” Southgate said at the University of London.

“They spend more time online searching for direction and are falling into unhealthy alternatives like gaming, gambling and pornography. And this void is filled by a new kind of role model who does not have their best interest at heart.

“These are callous, manipulative and toxic influencers, whose sole drive is for their own gain. They willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance, never showing emotion, and that the world, including women, is against them.”

Southgate revealed he spent time visiting community centres, schools and a prison since stepping down after England’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final last summer, talking to those about the importance of “belief and resilience”, using his missed penalty against Germany at Euro 96 as an example of how he had grown from difficult experiences.

He also spoke on encouraging his England players to be open with their emotions with feelings creating strong bonds and connections in the team.

“Today, young people are bombarded by information at all times of the day,” Southgate said. “They are targeted with images of the perfect body, the perfect career and the perfect life.

“A beautifully crafted highlights reel where success appears to be instant and effortless. How can this make them feel good about themselves?

“The solutions are complex because bad habits have been formed. But ignoring the negative impact of social media on our young people is not an option.

“With England, we gave ourselves the best chance to succeed. And we must give our young men the best chance to succeed as well. That’s the message we need to offer young men today.

“Not everyone will win trophies, not everyone will be at the top of their field. But everyone can live a life where they can constantly strive to improve.

“That is how we will create a young generation, a society, and a nation of which we can all be very proud. And I’m looking forward to playing whatever role I can to help make it happen.”

The Richard Dimbleby Lecture with Gareth Southgate came be watched in full on BBC iPlayer and on BBC One at 10:40pm on Wednesday the 19th of March.

Twitter users reacted as Gareth Southgate warns of ‘toxic influencers’ and ‘crisis’ that face ‘isolated’ young men…

@FlagOnThePlayUk: He’s right though isn’t he

@AndrewxMontague: Brilliantly said 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

@SamClench: Extremely boring football coach but on this Southgate is 🎯

@HollMCR:
He’s blaming online influencers, what about Football role models? Look at me kids – £150k a week, endless FIFA points, fancy house, car, clothes and jewellery. Not to mention the model GF. You can only look at my perfect lifestyle that you’ll never have through the lense of social media, because you can’t watch me play unless you pay per month:
💰Sky Sports £22 + TV package
💰TNT sports £20 + TV package
💰Amazon Prime £9.99
They need sport, but sport left them for a pay check.

@Only1Chambers: As a kid, i had access to Champions League, F1, the Big Match and Football Italia on a weekly basis. All that is now behind a pay wall at unaffordable rate for kids. Phones give easy access to apps at a far cheaper price….. Corporate greed doesnt want kids to have access!

@hol40900: Southgate’s worried about young men gaming & watching porn, but where’s the concern for the lack of opportunities, rising costs, or cuts to youth services? Maybe if the government invested in their future, they wouldn’t need “better role models” online. #BBCBreakfast

@warrenmich1: He is right. Absolutely agree

@Parentengage: He is right about porn, gambling, role models and resilience but gaming can be an incredibly important aspect of teen boys’ lives and it ain’t all bad.

@SteveDewJones: As a father of boys, I am grateful for men like Gareth Southgate.

@dan_gchalk: Forget whether or not you agreed with his tactics or substitutions. Gareth Southgate is a real leader. He knows the weight of his interventions, doesn’t overplay them, and times them well. As a role model for young English men, he’s right up there.

@Gregess76: This is brilliant 👏🏻

@ilikeblobfish1: Absolutely correct. Say what you want about Gareth Southgate as a football manager but you can’t deny he’s a good person with his head and heart in the right place. 👏

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