“If a woman is going out with a man, she belongs to that man, she’s his woman, so if she wants to do OnlyFans she owes him some money, cause she’s his.” 

  At some point in our lives, we were all handed an iPad, a phone, a laptop or some other device by our parents.

   Not only did these devices distract us from the occurrences around us, but they provided access to a magical place: the internet, and within it, influencers. 

  We all know one of social media’s most controversial celebrities, Andrew Tate. He’s the radical “women beater” whose controversial opinions have been widespread through apps like TikTok and YouTube. We hear about his wild sentiments about women, but what is rarely talked about is the effect of his statements, and the impressions they leave on young men. Tate has always promoted the age-old definition of masculinity—the view that men should be tough, not cry, not back down from a fight—and he says as much in numerous clips and interviews that have become quite popular on TikTok and YouTube Shorts. 

  Young children are very impressionable, and will often replicate what they see as cool or popular, especially when they see people like Tate gather such widespread attention (Andrew has been searched 4,500,324 times in the last 30 days, beat only by Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth, outranking famous celebrities like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Elon Musk). They see how successful Andrew Tate is and they idolize him. They see the way he acts as a means to get the fancy cars and expensive houses he owns. He is impossible to escape and being surrounded by ideologies such as his promotes the kind of behavior that leads to abusive and toxic relationships. 

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). These kinds of relationships are even more damaging to young adults. Young adults who are subjected to violence like this are more likley to experience symtoms of anxiety and depression, engage in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, and doing drugs. 

 Every day, Andrew Tate is given a microphone and platform to talk. In fact, although Andrew Tate doesn’t (and never has) owned a TikTok account, videos under the hashtag #AndrewTate have been viewed 13.7 billion times. We view his videos, laugh at his antics, create memes, and buy his shirts. However, the destructive behavior and abuse he promotes is not a laughing matter. When we indulge in his content we support him, continue the cycle of influence on the young men of our generation.