Andrew Tate’s Effect on the Younger Mind
Anything Goes With James English, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“I think the women belong to the men,” 35-year-old Andrew Tate says.
Andrew Tate is a 35-year-old former professional kickboxer known for his online presence. He spreads his views on women, men, and toxic masculinity. He is also the founder of “Hustler’s University”, which claims to teach people how to get rich quickly.
Andrew Tate has been influencing young minds through social media with his opinions that encourage toxic masculinity. His opinions have made his social media platform grow rapidly.
Tate has a mixed audience; he has a range of those who support him, oppose him, and neutrally view his actions online. Some of those who support him are younger boys, and some people believe they are being permanently changed by hearing Tate’s views.
“Their minds aren’t fully developed so they’re easily persuaded,” sophomore Krystal Johnson said. “It's mostly young boys being affected; older men are usually too busy to give him any attention.”
Tate posts on social media platforms that have a young audience. He spreads misogynistic opinions about women and the ways men should act, which is imprinted on teen boys. Boys as young as 11 and 12 have been listening to him. This isn’t a new concept, considering younger kids and teens are easily influenced by almost anything on the internet.
“I believe he is affecting the younger generation, but I think they are also affected by almost everything they see on the internet… anything that becomes popular is seen by them,” sophomore John Slama said. Slama has a neutral viewpoint when it comes to Tate.
Tate spreads opinions that men should be dominant, and women are merely an object. He gained popularity rapidly through social media platforms commonly used by the age group he’s been influencing, which is teenagers.
“I have seen him mostly influence through TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, stuff like that, as well as other people reacting to him,” junior Morgan Milton said.
Tate also spreads opinions about money. As the founder of Hustlers University, he gives tips to his audience about how to make money online. Though, it was shut down for 24 hours when Andrew Tate was banned from social media platforms. It has not been Multi-Level Marketing approved and has not proven to be a functioning operation.
“...he rambles on about how much money he has and he’s always saying if you want to be like me, you must do this in certain ways,” Jay Verma, a junior at Bolles High School said.
Tate was recently banned from social media due to the things he said online. Many individuals believe this is an infringement on the right to free speech, but others agree it was the right decision.
“Obviously, I don’t agree with his content... but I feel like there's also a lot of creators who line up with the beliefs that I have that people don’t like and people would want... taken down,” senior Ava Osborne said.
