Galloway and India warn social media deskills men, commodifies women

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 · from 2 podcasts

Social media platforms monetize male isolation, creating a cohort of asocial, asexual 30-year-olds.
Young women are taught to view themselves as optimized products, making motherhood a brand risk.
The mental health industry and influencer culture pathologize normal distress, replacing eroded social anchors.

Social media isn't just a mirror for modern anxieties - it's the engine. Scott Galloway argues on Huberman Lab that platforms like TikTok and YouTube are the "Antichrist of progress" for young men, designed to capture every spare second with a frictionless loop of porn, gambling, and algorithmic sedation. The result is a growing cohort of asocial, asexual males who reach age 30 having never endured the discomfort of real-world social friction.

"Big Tech acts as the 'Antichrist of progress' for young men by providing a frictionless existence."
- Scott Galloway, Huberman Lab

For young women, the crisis is one of commodification. On Modern Wisdom, Freya India argues that girls who have marketed themselves on Instagram since age ten now view themselves as products. Motherhood, with its inherent messiness and vulnerability, is seen as a career-killing brand failure. This isn't a lack of ambition but an extreme risk aversion, where the goal is to stay pristine for the market.

The data shows a stark political and social divergence. India cites research showing young women have moved dramatically toward the radical left, becoming more pessimistic and hostile toward men, while young men have stayed politically stable. The "Femosphere" fuels this with content that mirrors the cynical, transactional language of the Manosphere, framing relationships as a zero-sum game. This culture has triggered a sex recession, with Gen Z having less sex than previous generations.

As traditional anchors like family and community erode, new industries fill the void. India argues the mental health industry and self-love campaigns often function as marketing strategies, selling a medicalized identity. Social media incentivizes the performance of trauma, creating a recursive loop where ordinary teenage distress is reframed as a permanent disorder. Galloway sees a parallel economic model, noting that 40% of the S&P 500's value comes from companies that monetize outrage and social withdrawal.

Both analysts call for a renewal of human connection against algorithmic isolation. Galloway pushes for a "renewal of alliances" between men and women, noting only one in three men under 30 are in a relationship. His prescription is blunt: work out, work outside the house, and volunteer. India’s is cultural: reject the pathologization of normal life. The shared diagnosis is that platforms are actively deskilling a generation, and the treatment requires logging off.

"When you have spent your life since age ten marketing yourself on Instagram, the messy, unpredictable nature of motherhood feels like a brand failure."
- Freya India, Modern Wisdom

2 Sources:

Huberman Lab Modern Wisdom

#Society #Social Media #Mental Health

Instagram India

Source Intelligence

- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes

Huberman Lab

Male Roles, Obligations and Options for Building a Fulfilling Life | Scott Galloway • Apr 27

Scott Galloway states that achieving success in career, relationships, and finances requires the willingness and endurance to anticipate rejection, despite Big Tech's promotion of a frictionless life.
Scott Galloway proposes masculinity can serve as a personal code for men, built on three aspirational attributes: being a provider, a protector, and a procreator.
Scott Galloway emphasizes economic relevance as crucial for a man's self-esteem and societal standing, recommending young men plan for financial viability, potentially through traditional education or trade skills.
Scott Galloway highlights "service" as a crucial, often overlooked, masculine attribute, suggesting men should optimize for service over attention and strive to create "surplus value" by contributing more than they consume.
Scott Galloway advises young men to reallocate daily screen time (up to 8 hours) towards building physical strength, gaining economic experience through outside-the-house jobs, and engaging in community activities.
Scott Galloway notes that young men who work out three times a week, work 30 hours a week outside the home, and volunteer immediately place themselves in the top 8% of all young men.
Scott Galloway argues that Big Tech acts as a "villain" by monetizing users' time through algorithms that promote antagonism, contributing to millions of young men becoming asocial, asexual, anxious, and depressed.
Andrew Huberman and Scott Galloway discuss how teen suicide rates have dramatically increased since the advent of mobile social media, citing research by Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge.
Scott Galloway highlights that Big Tech earned $11 billion last year from users under 18 and cites a New Mexico Attorney General case where a 12-year-old girl's account received solicitations from abusers within minutes.
Scott Galloway proposes three solutions for Big Tech: antitrust action to break up monopolies, removal of Section 230 protections for algorithmically elevated content, and age-gating social media for those under 16.
Scott Galloway calls for a "renewal of alliances" between men and women, noting that only one in three men under 30 are in a relationship, compared to two in three women, who often date older, more viable men.
Scott Galloway criticizes "misandry cosplaying as social commentary" and debunks exaggerated dating risks for women, stating men are 16 times more likely to self-harm after a date than women are to be harmed by their date.
Scott Galloway advocates for mandatory national service, citing Israel and Singapore as examples of countries with low youth depression rates and strong national unity due to such programs.
Andrew Huberman describes his inspiring visit to the Naval Academy, observing midshipmen who avoid phones, engage in rigorous physical and academic activities, and demonstrate strong personal character.

Also from this episode: (2)

Science (2)

Scott Galloway suggests that for 95% of the population, the risks of alcohol intake are outweighed by the benefits of social interaction, arguing it acts as a social lubricant that encourages connections and reduces inhibitions.
Andrew Huberman expresses concern that while alcohol can facilitate social interactions, the presence of phones can record unfiltered drunken statements, leading to potential career or social harm through "cancel culture."

#Society #Social Media #Psychology #Education

Modern Wisdom

The Extreme Crisis of Young Women - Freya India - #1090 • Apr 27

Freya India's book received one-star Goodreads reviews because readers, particularly liberal women, felt misled by its cover and were unprepared for its skeptical views on the mental health industry and cultural topics like family breakdown.
New Statesman research found young women are more pessimistic than men, feeling less happy, ambitious, and fulfilled. Privileged women reported even greater pessimism, which India argues mirrors her own controversial conclusions.
Freya India argues liberal Anglosphere women face unique problems like the medicalization of negative emotions and pressure to stay single for self-actualization, not traditional pressures to settle down.
India posits that social media platforms devastated young women by offering substitutes for eroded foundational anchors like family, community, and religion, making them more susceptible to addiction.
Liberal teen girls use social media for over five hours a day at a rate of about 31%, significantly higher than other groups, indicating a specific link between liberal upbringing and heavy platform use.
Freya India argues women are increasingly encouraged to see themselves as optimized products for the market, which explains aversions to motherhood and valuing career independence over human connection.
A recent Pew survey found 12th-grade girls are less likely than boys to want marriage someday, with single young women more likely to view marriage as outdated.
Nearly a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds in the UK have a smartphone, and 38% are already on social media, highlighting early childhood exposure to digital platforms.
Nearly 30% of American teenage girls aged 14 to 18 seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021, a statistic India attributes to genuine distress compounded by a mental health industry encouraging rumination.
India argues the mental health and self-love industries often function as marketing strategies, selling products like editing apps and therapy while encouraging girls to diagnose and label normal human distress.
The New Statesman reported the political gender gap among under-30s is widening due to young women moving radically left, not young men moving right, a shift India links to social media algorithms and progressive politics indulging female vices.
Freya India cites 2020 as a turning point where morality became measurable by Instagram profiles, with teenage girls facing intense pressure and reputation damage for not posting about social issues like Black Lives Matter.
India traces a beauty influencer arms race from simple tutorials to normalized extreme content like Brazilian butt lifts and anti-aging routines for teenagers, driven by competition for clicks.
Apps like FaceTune, which allow detailed facial editing, were marketed as self-love tools but contributed to body dysmorphia and a crippling aversion to unedited photos among teenage girls.
Freya India argues social media has feminized behavior by encouraging rumination, insecurity, and indirect aggression like reputation destruction, traits she says are now evident across genders online.
A study of 15 years of Reddit relationship advice shows 'end relationship' comments rose from 30% to 50%, while 'communicate' and 'compromise' suggestions dropped significantly.
India criticizes therapy language for obscuring real relationship problems, arguing that an overemphasis on communication and attachment styles can prevent people from recognizing fundamental incompatibility.

#Social Media #Society #Psychology #Digital Sovereignty