“Our role models tend to be aggressive, maybe slightly violent, and their behaviors are not necessarily the ones we want to transfer into society,” says Catto.
Likewise, gender-specific marketing contributes to shortening men’s lives. The research published in The Lancet suggests that tobacco and alcohol companies target particular groups of men, including disadvantaged communities. Meanwhile, a University of Cambridge study found that gambling adverts on Facebook and Instagram in Ireland reached 2.3 times more men than women, with 22% of adverts specifically targeting men and none targeting women exclusively.
Catto highlights the influence of gambling culture during football matches, where fans bet more and more throughout the match. He says gambling has become part of the sporting experience, with potentially serious consequences including debt, bankruptcy and mental health problems.
The trap of online masculinity
Prejudicial masculine characteristics are also evident in the digital realm, where podcasters and social media influencers promote particular ideals of strength, dominance, and masculine autonomy.
These loosely connected online communities, often accompanied by hostility towards feminism and women, are collectively known as the manosphere and are identified in research as having a potentially harmful influence on men’s health.
Catto believes these communities may be particularly attractive to boys who leave school without qualifications and subsequently experience unemployment or social exclusion.
“Boys who don’t do very well in school and end up in lower paying jobs or unemployed, which can lead to more isolation and anger towards society. And that’s where the manosphere comes in by offering a solution, by saying it’s not your fault, it’s the government, or women, or feminism.”
Why loneliness can be dangerous for men
Social isolation is another factor in early deaths among men. A lack of supportive relationships can contribute to poorer mental and physical health and even suicide, which is a leading cause of premature mortality among men.
Catto thinks men could benefit from being more comfortable discussing their problems, especially when facing a serious illness. It compares men’s attitudes with the support women often give and receive after a breast cancer diagnosis.
“Someone like Kylie Minogue has breast cancer and a lot of women are empathetic and give her a lot of love and outpouring. We don’t always see that in the male population,” he explains.
He believes organizations such as Prostate Cancer UK and football clubs have helped overcome this reluctance by encouraging men to discuss their health problems more openly.
Gn Health
