A New York University professor is sounding the alarm about a looming social crisis for young men driven by the rise of “AI sex bots” and excessive consumption of pornography.
Scott Galloway advocated for schools to start teaching young men “mating dynamics” to help preserve their ability to seek and build meaningful relationships with romantic partners on the “Diary of a CEO” podcast this week.
“Approaching women, and making them feel safe, is a skill,” he said.
The Stern School of Business marketing professor warned that digital facsimiles of real-life connections are also robbing men of the opportunity to improve other key social skills.
“We are developing these digital analogs of life that create low-entry, low-risk relationships. You think that’s not a bad thing, well it is because it leads to loneliness and depression,” Galloway told host Steven Bartlett on an episode entitled “It’s an Emergency! The Number of Men Having No Sex Increased 180%.“
Galloway, who in the past has urged members of Gen Z to stop “bed rotting” and spend more time out of the house, lamented the fact that young men these days are discouraged from engaging in such character-building activities as going “out in the physical world” expressing “human interest” and even “risking rejection.”
“Fewer and fewer men are engaging in those risks, and I think AI and the combination with sex bots is going to create an industry where men start having relationships with algorithms and dolls,” he said.
Later in the episode, Galloway offered several of his own suggestions for young men who feel caught in today’s distraction-laden, always-online environment.
“Pursuing someone and developing the skills, deciding to put on a clean shirt, maybe showering more often, maybe hitting the gym once in a while, and maybe text when you are unsure how this person feels about you and figuring out how to act so you can develop a relationship,” he explained.
“That is the victory, that is the payoff.”
He also urged young men to think of the abundance of time on their hands as money — and to reconsider how they “invest” the scores of hours each week spent between “Twitter, TikTok, and porn.”
Reallocating time, and being in the presence of strangers, Galloway says, are key steps to building self-esteem and people skills.
As for how the stunted development of young men’s social and dating skills is affecting young women, Galloway said it’s pushing them to pursue relationships with older men because they prefer partners who are more “economically and socially viable.”