Social media and the medicalization of boyhood: Critical literacies to evaluate media messaging

This article explores how social media is contributing to the medicalization of masculinity – specifically the pathologizing of boys and young men who do not reflect dominant masculine ideals. We illustrate how medicalization of masculinity intersects with hegemonic masculinity – the socially dominant and most valued form of masculinity. Boys and men who do not live up to these ideals may be diagnosed with conditions rather than recognizing systemic pressures. First, we consider ideals presented on social media platforms often perpetuate stereotypes around masculinity with images of the muscular man, exuding power and strength, who appears stoic and attractive to women. For those who do not measure up to the normative images, online communities, pseudo medical experts and clickbait offer avenues to remedy perceived problems. We explore the consequence of social media consumption and offer an epistemic approach to advance critical social media literacies. Our contribution is a new theoretical lens to advance discussions around literacies urgently needed in the digital age to accounts for the interplay between social media production, users, their choices, values and beliefs. We offer this theoretical approach to advance proficiencies so that boys and young men can more critically evaluate misinformation, disinformation and harmful norms on social media that perpetuate dominant versions of masculinity and the medicalization of those who do not measure up.