Louis Theroux’s look at toxic masculinity is a wake-up call for Christian parents

This latest offering from Netflix shows how the manosphere is shaping young minds online. In response, Martin Saunders encourages parents and churches to have open conversations with young people and model a gospel-shaped alternative

One of the most harrowing aspects of parenting is realising the kind of world your child is growing up in. Perhaps, with global instability, climate change and economic decline, those fears have never felt more pertinent or dread-inducing. Yet while they shouldn’t have to carry the burden for fixing our mistakes, at least the emerging generations offer some kind of beacon of hope. Perhaps they will be different; wiser than us? Maybe they’ll start to heal the world we’ve broken.

it’s a world of extreme online influencers and ‘content creators’ who will say anything for cash-generating clicks

If you’ve watched Louis Theroux’s new Netflix documentary Into the Manosphere, then you’d be forgiven for thinking that hope might be misplaced. For 90 excruciating minutes, the bespectacled master of embedded cringe journalism meets some of the key players in a global movement that is shaping young people – and particularly young men – in alarmingly regressive ways. Dubbed ‘the manosphere’, it’s a world of extreme online influencers and ‘content creators’ who will say anything for cash-generating clicks, and who have learned that misogyny, homophobia and brutish ‘masculinity’ are the fastest way to get them.

Through Louis’ intrepid reporting we meet Harrison Sullivan (known online by the moniker HSTikkyTokky), a muscular 24-year-old Brit known for pranks and a quick mouth, who will say absolutely anything “for the clout.” On the surface he seems to be spending his days in Marbella, surrounded by models, making outrageous videos to increase his following. In reality he’s diverting those followers to a trading app with the promise of financial transformation, and running a business making money from the OnlyFans models he promotes. Spoiler alert: when Louis invests in the app ……