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05 August 2011

Talk and survey: Are we seeing the demise of guys? Philip Zimbardo on TED.com

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo asks, “Why are boys struggling?” He shares some stats (lower graduation rates, higher rates of unemployment) and suggests a few reasons — and challenges the TED community to think about solutions. (Recorded at TED2011, February 2011, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 4:47.)

Watch Phil Zimbardo’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 1,000+ TEDTalks.

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  • Aug 5 2011

    I am not seeing the guys. I just see it but i want to download it.

    • Aug 7 2011

      If you click the link that says “Phil Zimbardo’s talk on TED.com” underneath the video, you should there…

  • Pingback: Modern Male Malaise

  • Aug 6 2011

    I took the survey, and also started a related TED Conversation… Great topic!

    http://www.ted.com/conversations/4851/are_boys_brains_being_digita.html

  • Aug 7 2011

    This is a very real and relevant issue. “Guys” are struggling due to a lack of leadership. Parents, particularly fathers, are abdicating their responsibility and boys are raising themselves in a world based on the principles of immediate gratification and the path of least resistance. Then answer to this problem is for parents to reclaim the responsibilities that they have so easily given to others. Specifically, fathers need to care for their boys through intentional mentoring and raising them to be leaders and men of honor. Video games need to be replaced with a focus on service above self. When the focus becomes creating men instead of enabling boys the world will be a better place.

  • Pingback: What happened to guys? « Our Multimedia Culture

  • Aug 9 2011

    I would agree with this to some degree, but there is a far bigger problem. For too long men have sat on their butts in their homes and let the mother of their children manage everything in their home. Men need to be fathers to their sons and daughters and pay more attention to their children than to their papers, HDTV’s, phones and computers. Know them well enough to know how to help them grow up! It’s tough out there. A father should be able to take care of every aspect of essential child care and not defer to their mother.

  • Aug 23 2011

    I understand what he is saying but I don’t think it’s a problem. I like video games and porn, so what?

  • Rob

    Aug 26 2011

    Marky Mark…you’re exactly the kind of “guy” he’s talking about.

  • Nov 8 2011

    Growing up, I can safely say that men don’t care about starting a family. Therefore the drive to do well in school, and be starting their career at 22 or 23, is just isn’t there. Why don’t they want to start a family? It’s expensive, and there is a very high chance of it failing where he will be on the hook for child support, and only get to see his kids 2 days out of every 14. Even if he finds the one, women, in general, still have traditional expectations of men, AND expect them to help out around the house more. Lastly, it’s this generation of men who saw the rise of dual working parent and single parent households and didn’t like what they saw so they aren’t in any hurry. On the other hand, women have that biological clock so they cannot wait… Times have changed, but it’s changing a way that isn’t good for women who want kids at a younger age… and quite frankly that’s good for society.

  • Nov 13 2011

    I would disagree with his attributing the problem to video games and porn. I think that in previous generations, men had far fewer social and entertainment options, and followed traditional work and dating rules because no options were available. Now that it is feasible to spend all night playing fun games or watching porn, why work? I know many guys who play video games excessively and are still extremely successful in school, work, and relationships. I also know many guys who sit around all day smoking pot and playing video games because they have no reason to do anything else. The video also completely glosses over women who play games or watch porn.

  • Pingback: Porn Addiction Is Not Sex Addiction, and Why That's Important — The Good Men Project

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