18-to- 34-year-old men spend more time playing video games a day than 12-to- 17-year-old boys. While women are graduating college and finding good jobs, too many men are not going to work, not getting married and not raising families. Women are beginning to take the place of men in many ways. This has led some to ask: do we even need men?
So what’s wrong? Increasingly, the messages to boys about what it means to be a man are confusing. The machismo of the street gang calls out with a swagger. Video games, television and music offer dubious lessons to boys who have been abandoned by their fathers. Some coaches and drill sergeants bark, “What kind of man are you?” but don’t explain.
Movies are filled with stories of men who refuse to grow up and refuse to take responsibility in relationships. Men, some obsessed with sex, treat women as toys to be discarded when things get complicated. Through all these different and conflicting signals, our boys must decipher what it means to be a man, and for many of them it is harder to figure out.
18-to- 34-year-old women spend more time whining, talking on the phone, watching soaps and gay vampire shows a day than 12-to- 17-year-old girls. While men are out there being awesome, inventing stuff, fighting wars, making billions, too many women are not staying in the kitchen, not getting married and not raising families. Women are therefore dime a dozen these days. This has led some to ask: how many women does a man need?
So what’s wrong? Increasingly, the messages to girls about what it means to be a woman are confusing. The lameness of the feminazi gang calls out with a lesbian swagger. Designer labels, soaps and music offer dubious lessons to girls who have been abandoned by their parents. Some coaches and drill sergeants bark, “What kind of woman are you, you call that a sammich?” but don’t explain.
Movies are filled with stories of women who refuse to make their men a sammich and try to be the one with the pants in the relationship. Women, some obsessed with sex, treat men as toys to be discarded when the guy runs out of money. Through all these different and conflicting signals, our girls must decipher what it means to be a woman, and for many of them it is harder to figure out.
a) of course female earnings have grown since the 70s since women are now allowed to work. A more telling figure would be earnings growth from now to 2030 etc.
b) the West is increasingly becoming a service based economy so women are able to find equal employment. For the rest of the world where labour and manufacturing is a staple of the economy, men still dominate
c) As the article pointed out, men still hold the most powerful positions and this won't change. I'm not trying to be an ass but there's a reason patriarchal societies eclipsed all matriarchal ones. Men have a reproductive incentive to innovate. Look at the majority of self made billionaires, the leading researchers in science, math etc, all men. Women might be filling the work place but the last few decades have simply been a progression towards equilibrium. For better or worse, men are still the dominant sex among the business, technological and political elite. Ex: who founded Apple, Microsoft, Google, Koch Industries, Facebook, Youtube etc.
d) if Western men continue to be man-children then they will be overtaken by cultures where men are still men, i.e. the third world. Why do we need men? To fight and protect us. If other men are stronger, they will "move in" so to speak. If Western men continue to avoid their responsibilities, then the West will be eclipsed. As I said before, a matriarchal society will not overtake a patriarchal one.
e) I don't think Western men are "done". I think there will be distinct classes. The educated and motivated men will still dominate the upper echelons of society, the only difference is that less motivated men will now be a lower class (in terms of earnings) compared to a lot of women. I firmly believe that men dominate the upper, as well as the lower, end of society. Women are mostly in the middle. This is what you're seeing, a shift of middle men being replaced by women.
If men are in trouble, I don’t think it is because of video games, as the article seems to imply. If anything, I’d say it’s a symptom, not a cause.
I myself fall into the age group in question. Alhamdulillah, I am married, have a good job,a family and recently bought a house. I’m managing all of my responsibilities and I enjoy playing video games in my leisure time. I don’t see it being any worse than somebody who would watch movies or TV in their leisure time.
Here’s a link to a response to that article from a gaming site:
LMAO! Is this the wall street journal editorial? I can't open the link sadly. Anyway a few people have clarified the situation. The new generation of men, specifically my generation does not see marriage as a necessity of life. Being single into your mid or late 30s is normal for a man. Playing games is how we relax. We are after all the Atari/Nintendo generation. Not to be confused with the idiots SNES generation. :D
But here is the thing. There is no meeting of minds when it comes to the three issues highlighted.
1. Men do not want to get married and raise a family right away.
2. The job market is far worse for men then women due to the desire to balance out gender in the work place
3. Most men with families who get laid off deal with far more stress and anxiety than women.
At the end of the day its about freedom of choice. Do men want to get married? Some sure. Some no. But they will do so at their own pae and not what society deemed acceptable 30 years ago.
I was being sarcastic. you already agree that women dont need the ability to earn to be considered useful in society. That is just what the modern economy requires of them. But women will still be accommodated in society and still be considered desirable if they didnt. they will never be left out. They will still find mates. there will never be as many female losers and rejects because there is lot more to it than just video games and dropping out of college.
