Psychologist says gaming and pornography threaten “masculinity”

Masculinity is at risk! At least that's what you believe Philip Zimbard, professor of psychology at Stanford University, saying that online activity is causing a “masculinity crisis” among young people. Zimbardo believes that the brains of young people are becoming “digitally conditioned” (the term used is: "digitally rewired") due to the excess of games of game e porn.

speaking to the BBC, the professor said he came to these conclusions by observing the behavior of young people who go online for up to 15 hours daily. The change in brain functioning would be noticeable in normal situations: “When they're in the classroom they wish they were playing World of Warcraft, when they're with a girl they wish they were watching porn because that way they feel like they'll never be rejected“, he declared (listen to the full interview below).

Zimbardo understands this mentality as a phenomenon of cyberculture, which has proliferated private entertainment sources on the Web. O social isolation caused by this process is also pointed out as a factor of special concern. The teacher defines that young people who spend more than 5 hours a day with pornography or video games fall into what he calls “excessive use"(hard users). 

In addition to the number of hours, he also analyzed the changes in mindset of young people, in which the psychological excitement on the web is only form of sexuality that some know. "Boys may think online pornography is exciting, but physiologically they are becoming less excited. They suffer from PED – Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction (PIED)“, he framed.

Even when it comes to positive indicators such as the fact that young people are taking less drugs, ingesting less alcoholic beverages and being less violent, Zimbardo reaffirms his point of view: “They are not violent because they are alone in their rooms.”He stated. He even added that drinking Coca-Cola instead of alcohol is making the youth a generation of “fatasses” (sic), which increases the likelihood of diseases such as type 2 diabetes which, according to him, tends to decrease libido.

Naturally, Professor Zimbardo's controversial theses are for sale in the book "Man (Dis)Connected" (Disconnected Man)", whose subtitle is: "How technology has sabotaged what it means to be a man“. The book has basic recommendations for parents, such as trying to supervise what their children spend their time online with and the need to provide them with a good education, as well as concerns about issues such as “the images of males in the media are almost universally negative".

With 82 years old just completed in March, it is quite noticeable that Philip Zimbard is not a big fan of the digital age and his positions do not fail to express a vision anachronistic and outdated of masculinity, which for him comes close to an affirmation of virility through brutality and dryness. Not to mention that binarism in the discussion of genres is not the most appropriate approach to the issue.

After so many centuries of male domination and the world being what it is, the sunset of “old manhood” – which worries the teacher so much – is perhaps an issue that should be celebrated rather than avoided.

Source: CNet.