November 12, 2025

Boys Online: What the Latest Data Shows

44 minutes

Amy and Margaret discuss two new studies on boys and their lives online—in social media and gaming—and how today's digital culture shapes boys’ mental health, relationships, and ideas about their bodies and about masculinity.

We discuss why gaming fills social and emotional needs for many boys, why the time spent may be of more concern than the content, and how parents can stay involved without over-policing.

You’ll learn practical ways to become an “ask-able” parent, set boundaries, and how to know whether their time spent online is more harmful than helpful.

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Gottfried, Jeffrey & Sidoti, Olivia for Pew Research Center: ⁠⁠Teens and Video Games Today⁠⁠

Clair Cain Miller & Amy Fan for the NYT: ⁠⁠“How Video Games Are Shaping a Generation of Boys, for Better and Worse”⁠⁠

Oxford Internet Institute: ⁠⁠“Violent Video Games Found Not to Be Associated with Adolescent Aggression⁠⁠

Boston Children's Digital Wellness Lab: ⁠⁠Pulse Survey: Digital Gaming and Social Interaction⁠⁠

Claire Cain Miller for the NYT: ⁠⁠It’s Not Just a Feeling: Data Shows Boys and Young Men Are Falling Behind⁠⁠

Federica Pallavicini et. al for Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking: ⁠⁠The Effects of Playing Video Games on Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, and Gaming Disorder During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: PRISMA Systematic Review⁠⁠

Wenliang Su et. al for Computers in Human Behavior:

⁠⁠Do men become addicted to internet gaming and women to social media? A meta-analysis examining gender-related differences in specific internet addiction⁠⁠

Kirk M. Welker for JAMA: ⁠⁠Video Games—Cognitive Help or Hindrance?⁠⁠

Kara Alaimo for CNN Health: ⁠⁠What your teenage son is really seeing on social media, according to new survey⁠⁠

Common Sense Media: ⁠⁠⁠Boys & Gaming: What Parents Need to Know⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Fresh Take: Jean Twenge⁠⁠

⁠⁠Why Kids Get Obsessed—And Why It's a Good Thing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Laura Vanderkam's time-tracking spreadsheet⁠⁠

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boys and social media, boys and gaming, boys mental health, digital culture and masculinity, parenting boys online, raising boys in the digital age, video games and boys, healthy screen time for kids, social media effects on boys, parenting advice for tweens and teens, online friendships and gaming, emotional development in boys, helping boys navigate technology, positive masculinity, how to talk to kids about gaming, setting digital boundaries, boys body image online, supporting boys’ wellbeing, parenting in the digital world, tech and teen mental health,

What Fresh Hell podcast, mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent

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By Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

4.8

984984 ratings