Mastodon is full of hope as the intersection of society & tech is top of mind. So I want to ask you ethical technologists & passionate humanists for advice.
I've been growing in anxiety for 5yrs over more young men getting radicalized into hate&misogyny. I see my young self in them - nerdy, frustrated, angry. I got through it & became a well-rounded feminist, but that seems far from certain on today's internet.
I want to do more to help fight this problem but I don't know where to even start.
@nik I've been through a similar journey and share the same anxiety as you here.
15 years ago I was in that boat, with low self esteem, being angry, and believing into things like the ladder theory.
I then had a life changing event, was sick for 6 months. I lost a bunch of weight, couldn't drink alcohol anymore, and weirdly enough that put me on a journey to have more confidence in myself.
That still didn't make me into the feminist I am today, though.
@nik As I got more confident, I started to talk to women more, got into relationships, etc. but I've always been fairly curious and open.
I learned a lot by listening to their experience, seeing how much tougher they can have it for things that just look easy to us. I can't even count the number of times people (no matter their gender) are just nicer to me than my SO just because I'm a guy...
@nik What worries me compared to 15 years ago is how many people are now preying on low self-esteem, using it to maintain that hate and misogyny just so they can sell stuff - "self-improvement" programmes, dating coaching, etc.
But these folks are just perpetuating the cycle by exploiting young men's vulnerabilities and a toxic idea of masculinity which prevent them from speaking out about their pains.
Nikki Pinski
Nicolas 🦀