Inside the manosphere: harmful narratives about power, sex, and control are shaping children’s digital lives

Children no longer simply “go online”. Their lives, how they communicate, socialise and play very rarely take place exclusively in the “real” world anymore. They are on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube; scrolling, watching and learning. Boys and young men in particular increasingly encounter a stream of content by self-proclaimed “masculine influencers” where women are reduced to objects, dominance is rewarded, and consent is blurred.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands warns that the ‘manosphere’ is not a fringe phenomenon. This insight adds to cultural conversations seen in series like Netflix’s Adolescence and documentaries such as Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere. It is a mainstream digital environment that is shaping how young people understand relationships, sex and power, often long before they are ready.

Crucially, the organisation stresses: children are not only being shaped by this content, they are also vulnerable within it. “It is too simple to frame boys only as perpetrators,” says Gráinne Le Fevre, CEO of Terre des Hommes Netherlands. “Many are navigating pressure, confusion and harmful expectations around masculinity. They are exposed early, often alone, and too often feel unable to speak up.”

From content to behaviour

Research by Terre des Hommes Netherlands (2026) shows that harmful sexual behaviour among children is increasingly shaped online. Through social media, messaging apps and gaming platforms, children are exposed to norms that push boundaries around consent, pressure and control. What starts as “just content” can translate into behaviour: pressuring peers for images, sharing content without consent, or normalising coercive dynamics.

“This is more than simply a safety issue, it is also a mental health issue. Constant exposure to hyper-sexualised, degrading or aggressive content shapes identity, fuels anxiety and insecurity, and distorts expectations around relationships and self-worth. We are seeing the effects in how children relate to each other,” says Le Fevre. “This is a clear pattern, and it has accelerated rapidly in recent years.”

Exposure starts earlier than we think

The age at which children encounter harmful content should worry us all. Recent international research published on 18 March 2026 by Protect Children and Ofcom, based on over 20,000 perpetrators seeking child sexual abuse material, shows that:

• 59% were first exposed before the age of 18
• 13% had already seen such material by age ten
• Nearly half encountered it unintentionally
• Around 40% reported trying to contact a child in real life after repeated exposure

This reflects a digital environment where children are not actively seeking harmful content, but are exposed to it through the platforms they use every day. And what starts as exposure does not always stay there.

Early exposure often leads to more. Children can start searching for this content, become desensitised to it, and sometimes cross into harmful behaviour. In the same study, many respondents said they kept looking for this material after initial exposure. Around 40% said they had tried to contact a child offline, in the real world. “Exposure is rarely a single moment,” says Le Fevre. “It is a process. Curiosity becomes normalisation. And normalisation can become behaviour.”

Not a fringe problem

The influence of the manosphere does not stay within hidden niche communities such as Telegram. Its language and attitudes travel through memes, short-form video, group chats and gaming culture into everyday interactions between young people.

As shown in Inside the Manosphere, content that provokes, shocks or polarises is actively amplified. Platform dynamics reward engagement, meaning that more extreme content is often pushed further, faster. “This is how social media platforms are designed,” says Le Fevre. “And children are the most vulnerable to it.”

A shift in responsibility

Terre des Hommes Netherlands argues that current responses focus too heavily on children themselves – teaching awareness and resilience – while leaving the systems that drive exposure largely untouched. “We keep telling children to be careful,” says Le Fevre. “But careful in environments that are not designed with their safety in mind? That is not enough.”

The organisation calls for:

• Stronger safeguards against online sexual coercion, exploitation and abuse
• Greater transparency in how content is recommended and amplified
• Digital environments that are safe and age-appropriate by design
• Policies that prioritise children’s rights and safety in the digital space
• Investment in prevention, including mental health support, parent guidance, and school- and community-based interventions
• Meaningful involvement of children and parents in shaping solutions

A broader wake-up call

The debate sparked by Inside the Manosphere should not stop at online culture. It points to something deeper: a digital environment where misogyny, harmful sexual behaviour and exploitation are interconnected – and deeply embedded in the spaces where children grow up. “If the internet shapes how children understand relationships, we cannot treat this as a side issue,” says Le Fevre. “What they learn online follows them into real life.”