Fellowship Board Member Joseph E. Davis of the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Study, along with Michael Toscano and Ken Burchfiel of The Institute for Family Studies, have finished a study of America’s young men, ages 18-29. They have published the first part of their findings in a new report published by the Institute for Family Studies titled America’s Demoralized Men, Part I: Worthy Aspirations, Trying Circumstances.
In this report, based on surveys completed by 2,000 young men living in the U.S., the authors show that the typical depiction of young men as as no longer wanting good work, marriage, or family life is a false one. Instead, what young men feel and have experienced are drastic changes in social structures and institutions. Young men have been demoralized by the changes to American society. They feel left out, left behind, and troubled because many of the scripts they have been given do not neatly align with what the world is like. Though they feel down, their views are certainly not out there and they have not ceased to long for success as men, husbands, and fathers.
There is both good news and bad news in the report. The authors summarize the following findings:
The defining standards of adulthood have continued to change for young men.
Young men are having a hard time in matters of love
Young men view college with a great deal of ambivalence.
Trade school/apprenticeship is a valuable path to adulthood for young men.
Young men are not enthralled by on-line influencers as their role models.
Most young men say manhood is often viewed negatively in our society, but their understanding of masculinity is not the toxic masculinity of the manosphere.
In Part II of the report, to be released later, the authors will discuss social connection, alienation and distress, and what these findings mean for American society. Those interested in the report can read it online and/or download it in PDF form here.