The Diary of a CEO“It’s An Emergency!” The Number Of Men Having No Sex Increased 180%! - The Relationships Professor
Steven Bartlett and Scott Galloway on modern Masculinity Meltdown: Why Young Men Are Failing And Lonely.
In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, featuring Steven Bartlett and Scott Galloway, “It’s An Emergency!” The Number Of Men Having No Sex Increased 180%! - The Relationships Professor explores modern Masculinity Meltdown: Why Young Men Are Failing And Lonely Scott Galloway argues there is an under‑acknowledged crisis among young men driven by biology, a school system biased against boys, collapsing economic opportunity, and vanishing male role models.
At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Modern Masculinity Meltdown: Why Young Men Are Failing And Lonely
- Scott Galloway argues there is an under‑acknowledged crisis among young men driven by biology, a school system biased against boys, collapsing economic opportunity, and vanishing male role models.
- He warns this is feeding loneliness, sexlessness, suicide, political extremism, and a coming wave of men choosing digital substitutes—porn, AI companions, and sex bots—over real relationships.
- Galloway also explains how this male crisis is shrinking the pool of viable partners for women and driving female loneliness, even as women progress educationally and economically.
- He outlines practical solutions at both the personal and policy level: male mentorship, moderated tech and porn use, deliberate risk‑taking and rejection, disciplined financial habits, higher minimum wages, and a clearer, healthier vision of modern masculinity.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasTreat the male crisis as a real social problem, not a character flaw.
Men are vastly overrepresented in suicide, addiction, and incarceration (e.g., 76% of UK suicides are male; men are four times more likely to be addicted and 12 times more likely to be incarcerated). Galloway argues we frame women’s suffering as a societal issue but men’s as a failure of accountability. He insists compassion for struggling men is not anti‑woman and that young men should not be blamed for the sins of prior generations.
Male role models are the single biggest protective factor for boys.
Galloway repeatedly stresses that if you had to identify one ‘point of failure’ for a derailing young man, it is when he no longer has a male role model. With high male incarceration, abandonment, and very few male primary‑school teachers, many boys grow up without any positive male presence. His own life was changed by Pell Grants, accessible public education, and several unrelated men (coach, neighbor, stockbroker) who stepped in. He argues that ‘the number one solution for what ails young men is other men.’
Digital life, porn, and AI companions are crowding out real‑world risk and growth.
Online dating severely disadvantages average men: an average‑attractiveness man needs around 1,000 right swipes to get one actual coffee. Many then retreat into porn, games, and low‑risk digital “relationships,” which feel like connection but undermine motivation to engage in messy, risky real life. Galloway calls porn ‘the largest unsupervised experiment on young men’ and urges moderating it to keep ‘mojo’ for going outside, pursuing people, and enduring rejection. He predicts a booming sex‑bot and AI‑companion industry, leading many men to choose relationships with machines over humans, deepening depression.
Women’s gains plus male stagnation are shrinking the viable dating pool for both sexes.
Women are now better educated and often outearn men, especially under 30 in urban centers. Because women tend to date across or up socioeconomically while men date across and down, the ‘pool’ of men who are taller metaphorically (and often literally) is shrinking. This fuels a ‘high heels effect’: women are getting ‘taller,’ men ‘shorter,’ so many high‑achieving women in their 30s+ can’t find men they want to date, while large numbers of men get no attention. Online, the top 10% of men attract the majority of female interest (‘Porsche polygamy’), leaving most men lonely and most women frustrated.
Young men need a concrete playbook: earn, save, socialize, and get fit.
Galloway proposes three immediate reallocations of a young man’s time and energy: (1) start making any money—gig work, delivery, ride‑share—to build skills and hunger; (2) deliberately join activities that put you in the path of random strangers for friendships, mentors, and dating; (3) invest 4–6 hours weekly in physical fitness, which boosts mood, attractiveness, and kindness, and rivals medication and therapy for mental health. Financially, he advises: pick a field with >90% employment, get very good at it (10,000 hours), live below your means like a stoic, funnel savings into low‑cost index funds/ETFs (preferably tax‑advantaged), and let time and compound interest work.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesThe most dangerous person in the world is a lonely, young, broke male. And we’re producing millions of them.
— Scott Galloway
If you were to point to a single point of failure where all of this starts, it would be when the boy no longer has a male role model.
— Scott Galloway
Every digital version of your life is a shittier version of the analog life that could happen.
— Scott Galloway
If you want to punch above your weight class economically or romantically, then get out a spoon and get ready to eat shit. That is a prerequisite to that kind of success.
— Scott Galloway
The number one solution for what ails young men is other men. If we want better men, we have to be better men.
— Scott Galloway
QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE
5 questionsYou argue that the ‘single point of failure’ is when a boy loses a male role model—what would a scalable, realistic national program to pair boys with vetted male mentors actually look like, and how do we avoid the cultural suspicion you described?
Scott Galloway argues there is an under‑acknowledged crisis among young men driven by biology, a school system biased against boys, collapsing economic opportunity, and vanishing male role models.
If online dating is structurally stacked against the bottom 90% of men, what concrete, step‑by‑step offline strategy would you give an average 25‑year‑old man this week to improve his romantic prospects without becoming resentful?
He warns this is feeding loneliness, sexlessness, suicide, political extremism, and a coming wave of men choosing digital substitutes—porn, AI companions, and sex bots—over real relationships.
You propose tripling the minimum wage as a key lever against deaths of despair—how do you respond to small business owners who insist this would bankrupt them, and what transitional policies (if any) would you put in place to minimize unintended damage?
Galloway also explains how this male crisis is shrinking the pool of viable partners for women and driving female loneliness, even as women progress educationally and economically.
Your masculinity framework includes ‘procreator’ and male romantic initiation, which you say will ‘get you in the most trouble’—how would you teach adolescent boys the line between confident pursuit and predatory behavior in a way that both feminists and traditionalists could accept?
He outlines practical solutions at both the personal and policy level: male mentorship, moderated tech and porn use, deliberate risk‑taking and rejection, disciplined financial habits, higher minimum wages, and a clearer, healthier vision of modern masculinity.
You’re optimistic that AI will ultimately create more jobs, yet you also predict an AI‑driven ‘misinformation Lollapalooza’ in elections—what specific regulatory mechanisms (e.g., watermarking, liability changes, ad transparency) do you believe are both technically feasible and politically passable in the next 3–5 years?
Chapter Breakdown
Framing the Male Crisis: From Suicides to Compassion
The conversation opens with stark UK suicide statistics and broader data about male addiction and incarceration. Galloway argues society misframes men’s suffering as a failure of character rather than a societal crisis deserving compassion, which leaves a vacuum filled by unhelpful online voices.
Biology, Biased Schools, and Vanishing Male Role Models
Galloway explains how slower male brain maturation, school discipline biases, and a shortage of male teachers disadvantage boys. He argues the key inflection point where many young men ‘come off the tracks’ is the loss of a male role model, exacerbated by incarceration and family breakdown.
Economic Squeeze and Generational Shame
The discussion turns to economic trends punishing young people, particularly men whose worth is still largely judged economically. Galloway outlines how wealth has shifted to the elderly, homeownership has become unattainable, and for the first time 30‑year‑olds are doing worse than their parents, fostering shame and rage.
Galloway’s Backstory: Saved by Government and Random Men
Galloway shares his upbringing with a single mother and how he nearly derailed without male guidance. Government support and accessible public universities, combined with multiple unrelated men who mentored him, convinced him to focus his work on helping young men.
Overprotected Youth, Social Withdrawal, and the Dating Collapse
The conversation explores how today’s sanitized, over‑programmed childhoods and digital habits reduce unsupervised socialization. Galloway connects fewer in‑person interactions, collapsing shop classes, and brutal online dating odds to male social atrophy, loneliness, and the rise of the ‘lonely, young, broke male.’
AI, Sex Bots, and Digital Substitutes for Intimacy
Galloway warns that AI, social platforms, and emerging sex‑bot technology offer low‑risk, low‑calorie substitutes for friendship, learning, and sex. These shortcuts discourage real‑world risk‑taking and deepen depression as men forgo the hard but rewarding work of building human relationships.
Rejection, Porn, and Reallocating Time Capital
Galloway reframes time as capital and urges young men to audit their phone usage, especially porn and trading apps. He positions the ability to endure rejection as the core skill for entrepreneurial and romantic success, and suggests moderating porn to keep sexual drive pointed toward real‑world engagement.
Women’s Side of the Crisis: Shrinking Pools and Rising Loneliness
The focus shifts to how male decline and changing gender economics affect women. Galloway explains why many accomplished women in their 30s and 40s struggle to find suitable partners despite being highly desirable, and how online dating concentrates male power at the top while leaving many women and men lonely.
A Practical Playbook: Money, Work, and Living Below Your Means
Galloway outlines a straightforward algorithm for young men to achieve economic security: focus on a viable skill, live like a stoic, and invest early and passively. He dismisses ‘follow your passion’ as dangerous if misread as turning hobbies into careers in oversubscribed fields.
How to Start Investing from Almost Nothing
For absolute beginners with a few hundred or thousand saved, Galloway offers simple, concrete investment steps. He stresses low‑fee diversification, tax‑advantaged accounts, and the astonishing power of time and compound interest, even on small sums.
Male Role Models, Mentorship, and the ‘Second Family’ Reality
Galloway becomes visibly emotional discussing the men who stepped into his life and how cultural suspicion now hampers such involvement. He argues that non‑sexual paternal and fraternal male care is overwhelmingly positive and that men must overcome stigma to mentor boys in need.
Andrew Tate, Status, and the Allure of Extreme Masculinity
Galloway gives a nuanced take on Andrew Tate, acknowledging the appeal of his early messages about fitness and accountability while condemning the misogyny and grift. This leads into a broader discussion of status games, luxury branding, and how men and women signal mating value.
Defining Modern Masculinity: Protector, Provider, Procreator
Galloway outlines his developing framework for masculinity, pushing back on both right‑wing cruelty and left‑wing ‘just act like a woman’ messaging. He sees masculinity as available to any gender and centers it on protection, provision, and respectful romantic initiation.
Work, Offices, and Where People Now Meet
Discussing remote work and loneliness, they argue workplaces are crucial sites for friendships and romantic relationships. Galloway supports remote flexibility for caregivers but believes young people should maximize time in the office to build careers and connections.
Alcohol, Addiction Audits, and the Value of Pain
The hosts explore how alcohol and other addictions interact with ambition, happiness, and rock‑bottom moments. Galloway suggests auditing addictions and using pain or ‘bottoms’ as catalysts for change, especially when building careers.
Systemic Solutions: Wages, Wealth Transfer, and AI Regulation
Returning to macro issues, Galloway argues for straightforward but politically difficult policy fixes like dramatically raising minimum wage and strengthening regulation of big tech and AI. He sees wealth concentration among the old and rich as ‘ground zero’ for many social ills.
AI, Future of Work, and Vocational Paths
In response to Daniel Ek’s question, Galloway positions himself as an AI optimist. He expects short‑term job destruction but long‑term job creation, especially for those who learn to use AI, and calls for more vocational training and less stigma around trades.
Fatherhood, Modeling Behavior, and Closing Reflections
The episode closes with Galloway’s advice to his own teenage sons and his evolving book projects on wealth and masculinity. Both men reflect on their own status games, disciplines, and the rapid rise of the show itself as they aim to use their platforms for positive cultural change.
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