Episode 4 - The Group Chat - Is it all toxic or is it healthy?

Explicit content warning

03/17/24 • 33 min

When we think of an all male group chat, does your mind wander to places of toxicity, misogyny and overall bad behavior? or does it go to a place where people find a community, where guys lift each other up, and police their language?

Well it can be both.

Let’s explore how the group chat is today’s digital third place, and how men and boys have found toxicity or a healthy community in them

RESEARCH:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/05/male-mental-health-mens-group-chats.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/MensLib/comments/135u9pv/the_unexpected_wholesomeness_of_the_male_group/ (MensLib reddit)

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Constance-Steinkuehler/publication/228622890_Digital_literacies_for_the_disengaged_Creating_after_school_contexts_to_support_boys%27_game-based_literacy_skills/links/5b80ec84a6fdcc5f8b65944d/Digital-literacies-for-the-disengaged-Creating-after-school-contexts-to-support-boys-game-based-literacy-skills.pdf

https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/38676179/Volume_2__Issue_2_Full_Issue.pdf?1441473367=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DVolume_2_Issue_2_September_2015.pdf&Expires=1708493753&Signature=HOfLxSvmQYZSDuiSJ1TdVaAEurSvJ8KY9Xhhs4SA1HVGqT4gAzu~Tws3if31EIubAuyl7WLz62YrvCGEHtfIScgebKu8ivoE3mT~5EkfFKCmGUyhy-ziPBcAE6BRz-B9iKnxo9mh3sdnfjRdt1Mfw5Dw2-8cJk277WwjMvE0t8UM7nD0E4ZtaWy0uu-a1X~~ZXySZ4vEcCgODh2cABKGInzoWSeVPdsrluV-vR6o-fONsRQ6C-7hbhsrxPFexGOcyXx2NUi2CA36wti3fZ1oIdLyAum6BBF1LsjRlRtcFCbp9~6c9s4M1h9b57sq8KhaDNBy1pVBj3DKt8ZdS0DcPA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA#page=9

https://www.insidehook.com/internet/10-things-to-start-doing-differently-in-your-all-male-group-chats

https://thetab.com/uk/2021/02/19/toxic-male-group-chats-190149

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2lPptNghyI

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=46677c8e-7bd0-4210-a297-ba0cd0ffe624

https://www.tprochnow.com/project/onlinegaming/

This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/join

You can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Well it can be both.

Let’s explore how the group chat is today’s digital third place, and how men and boys have found toxicity or a healthy community in them

RESEARCH:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/05/male-mental-health-mens-group-chats.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/MensLib/comments/135u9pv/the_unexpected_wholesomeness_of_the_male_group/ (MensLib reddit)

https://www.insidehook.com/internet/10-things-to-start-doing-differently-in-your-all-male-group-chats

https://thetab.com/uk/2021/02/19/toxic-male-group-chats-190149

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2lPptNghyI

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=46677c8e-7bd0-4210-a297-ba0cd0ffe624

https://www.tprochnow.com/project/onlinegaming/

This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/join

You can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Previous Episode

Bonus Episode: Iliana Depounti and AI Companion Bots

Today on Modern Manhood, a bonus episode for you with Iliana Depounti who is a researcher out of the University of Loughborough. She was one of the main writers of the research around Replika, an AI companion chat bot.

Ever since I thought about doing a season on tech I wanted to do an episode on AI companionship, because it’s so god darn interesting in regards to how people, especially guys operate on the internet. And to the broader themes of relationships in general.

And I had so many questions for Iliana, and so many quotes that I could’ve put in the episode. So this is the reason why I wanted to release the full interview. We not only go through Replika, but the different tropes the user liked, also why people may be interested in using the AI bot, and what women liked from their AI companion bot.

So enjoy my conversation with Iliana Depounti, on Modern Manhood: Man v/s Machine

This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/join

You can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/

Next Episode

Bonus Episode: Tyler Prochnow and how online Group Chats become Healthy

On this Bonus Episode of Modern Manhood, we give you the full interview with Tyler Prochnow who is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University.

He was my main voice in the Group Chat episode and we spoke a bit to his research in the online gaming and chat space.

His research interests include the social dynamics which drive health behavior. Tyler has also done work with local Boys & Girls Clubs, health districts, gaming communities, and other research projects to better understand how social connections impact physical activity and mental health.

In this episode you’ll hear us talk about how group chats can become healthy or toxic, and also dissect even a group chat like mine with my friends.

https://www.tprochnow.com/

This podcast cannot be done without the support of Next Gen Men, which you can support by subscribing to our online community at nextgenmen.ca/join

You can also subscribe to the Substack at https://theferdinand.substack.com/