"Notes on Being a Man" (4 Viewers)

[DA RAIDERS]

I would really like to see the proof that 40% of bars have closed since Covid. That's a staggering number. This guy throws numbers around absent any documentation or push back. Why is he being lionized exactly?

And I'm sure all the men he went after are busy watching Good Morning America to get his memo.

It's true, even some of the classics here in Florida that always made money were lost
Orlando, Miami and Tampa all got hit hard, bars with no kitchens and night clubs were turned on their heads during the pandemic

-Let's focus on these 18-24 year olds, almost half have never asked a girl out on a date...the follow up question to that should have been how many FWBs do you actively have in your life, that might have solved some of the mystery. Why do you need to go out on a date and spend money if you live in your parent's basement? You can bypass all that and visit her at her parent's basement

-It's like we've discussed in other threads, it use to be hard work when we were younger to obtain pictures of the female body vs the internet now - click click click
There is no effort required or less young men that are going to adhere to a more classic dating approach

Proof. I want proof that 40% of all bars and pubs have closed since Covid. Proof.

I asked Gemini how many bars were in the US in 2019? Estimated 65,706. How many in 2025? Estimated 68,447 to 69,935.

Yeah, I didn't go off on this rant blindly. I asked AI last night how many bars and pubs have closed since Covid and it wasn't even remotely close to 40%. I can't take a person seriously when they just drop inaccurate stats like this.

I laughed when he opened his TV spot by saying, "The education system is somewhat biased against boys. Think about the behaviors we encourage. Sit still. Be a pleaser. Raise your hand...You probably just described a girl." That's exactly how I was in school. I didn't realize that made me femme. Thought it was just normal, good behavior. From what I saw of Joey Galloway, he seems like a huckster who has latched onto a cultural shift that has been happening for decades.

Same. That opening really turned me off to whatever was going to come out of his mouth next.

My daughter is 19. I know a lot of her friends. I’ve taken many of them on multiple week long ski trips (LAM!!). Our house is safe place that many of them come hang out. They’re all pretty normal as far as I can tell. Shy as all get out when it comes to the ladies. But so was I at that age.

 

[Northern Voice]

I think the 40% of bars number is really hard to pin down, simply because so many bars and restaurants fail within a few years anyway. Are 40% more failing? I don't know.

I know running a brewery that we've probably seen our licensee (bar and restaurant base) drop by 25-30% over the past few years. Places are certainly closing and fewer new places are opening to replace them.

Again, anecdotally but I will say that when I was of the "clubbing age" 20 years ago, my city had nine options for places to go, now there are only three in the same town.

I don't know how much of this is related to the parallel decline in young people consuming alcohol - fewer go out and drink less when they do = of course bars and restaurants are closing right, left and centre.

Which is basically to say, I think the solution is for young men to drink more like back in the good old days. Lower inhibitions to meet women and hang out and socialize and reverse the trends of declining bars and restaurants all in one notion.

Now, who can I find to back my "actually teenage drinking is good" campaign ?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

So 45% of men don't ask women out but STIs reached an all-time high in 2021. Sure, that makes total sense.

You can get the clap from dirty game controllers. Everyone knows this.

And riding a tractor!

Exactly. Except tractor riding is probably more manly than playing with your x box.

Euphemisms?

 

[Joe Bryant]

big fan. it's scott galloway.

Thought it was either this or Jordan Peterson. Best to avoid giving CBS News traffic though.

CBS?

Since Bari Weiss has been named Editor-In-Chief of CBS News, there is the belief that its coverage is shifting conservative. Probably best to leave it at that to avoid politics.

Wow.

Thanks. I'd hate to think I'd limit myself to something from Scott Galloway because of something like that. But I don't doubt people do.

And yes, we can leave it at that.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I don't know if the 40% is accurate but it doesn't sound all that crazy. I remember reading that it is close to 1 out of 3 bars/restaurants don't survive their first year so 40% being closed since 2020 doesn't sound outrageous. I imagine that 40% doesn't take into all the new places that have opened in that timeframe though

Yea, there is responsibility on the person presenting the statistics to use them in a reasonable way. Galloway claimed 40% of bars closing caused a loss of socializing places for young men and women. Even if his statistic were accurate, supposing that rate of bar failure is normal and the total number of bars has actually increased since Covid, then Galloway becomes an untrustworthy source of information.

Meanwhile, there are 50 million people using Bumble, 75 million people using Tinder and 85 million registered users of Ashley Madison. Somebody is getting out there and knocking boots, Mr. Galloway.

We also now have a giant spike in same sex marriages, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about that in here. How refreshing it is that in today's society, that's completely normal and not taboo. I consider it progress that men and women now feel comfortable openly being who they are. Wasn't like that not all that long ago. Hooray for that.

Doom and gloom sells, so on with it. World is going stop spinning soon, I suppose.

I think the more concerning stats are 63% of men under 30 are single and 15% of them report having no friends, which is 5x more than from 1990.

30 years ago 55% of men reported having 6 more more friends, now it's about half that. It's a concerning trend.

Absolutely.

 

[Desert_Power]

big fan. it's scott galloway.

Thought it was either this or Jordan Peterson. Best to avoid giving CBS News traffic though.

CBS?

Since Bari Weiss has been named Editor-In-Chief of CBS News, there is the belief that its coverage is shifting conservative. Probably best to leave it at that to avoid politics.

Wow.

Thanks. I'd hate to think I'd limit myself to something from Scott Galloway because of something like that. But I don't doubt people do.

And yes, we can leave it at that.

I don't prefer to support brands that actively work against the interests and rights of my family members.

 

[beer 30]

World is going stop spinning soon, I suppose.

From your lips to God's ears

 

[Joe Bryant]

big fan. it's scott galloway.

Thought it was either this or Jordan Peterson. Best to avoid giving CBS News traffic though.

CBS?

Since Bari Weiss has been named Editor-In-Chief of CBS News, there is the belief that its coverage is shifting conservative. Probably best to leave it at that to avoid politics.

Wow.

Thanks. I'd hate to think I'd limit myself to something from Scott Galloway because of something like that. But I don't doubt people do.

And yes, we can leave it at that.

I don't prefer to support brands that actively work against the interests and rights of my family members.

I asked nicely, please drop that line. If you think CBS News actively does that, that can be a discussion you can take to another website. But please drop it here.

 

[General Malaise]

I would really like to see the proof that 40% of bars have closed since Covid. That's a staggering number. This guy throws numbers around absent any documentation or push back. Why is he being lionized exactly?

And I'm sure all the men he went after are busy watching Good Morning America to get his memo.

Yes, because citing sources and statistical data gathering/sampling methodology makes for a great talk show interview.

Sorry for wanting accuracy. My bad.

Your bad for what you said, not your intentions.

Asking a person to provide data to back up their claims isn't a bad thing, but you disagree it seems. 80% of the world agrees with me.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I think the 40% of bars number is really hard to pin down, simply because so many bars and restaurants fail within a few years anyway. Are 40% more failing? I don't know.

I know running a brewery that we've probably seen our licensee (bar and restaurant base) drop by 25-30% over the past few years. Places are certainly closing and fewer new places are opening to replace them.

Again, anecdotally but I will say that when I was of the "clubbing age" 20 years ago, my city had nine options for places to go, now there are only three in the same town.

I don't know how much of this is related to the parallel decline in young people consuming alcohol - fewer go out and drink less when they do = of course bars and restaurants are closing right, left and centre.

Which is basically to say, I think the solution is for young men to drink more like back in the good old days. Lower inhibitions to meet women and hang out and socialize and reverse the trends of declining bars and restaurants all in one notion.

Now, who can I find to back my "actually teenage drinking is good" campaign ?

That's a good point.

40% might have closed but if they've been replaced by another 40%, that dilutes Galloways bigger point which (I think) is that people are going out less for social things.

Your numbers would likely be a good indicator there.

But even that could be hard to pin down. Maybe people are going to bars and pubs less but still getting social connection in other places.

I do get the sense though overall that what he's saying about less social connection in real life is happening.

 

[General Malaise]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do. Might be possible that younger people consider gaming a social interaction much like we consider this to be one. My son plays XBox and talks to people the entire time. He also goes to bars, holds down a job, has a girlfriend....

 

[General Malaise]

I don't know if the 40% is accurate but it doesn't sound all that crazy. I remember reading that it is close to 1 out of 3 bars/restaurants don't survive their first year so 40% being closed since 2020 doesn't sound outrageous. I imagine that 40% doesn't take into all the new places that have opened in that timeframe though

Yea, there is responsibility on the person presenting the statistics to use them in a reasonable way. Galloway claimed 40% of bars closing caused a loss of socializing places for young men and women. Even if his statistic were accurate, supposing that rate of bar failure is normal and the total number of bars has actually increased since Covid, then Galloway becomes an untrustworthy source of information.

Meanwhile, there are 50 million people using Bumble, 75 million people using Tinder and 85 million registered users of Ashley Madison. Somebody is getting out there and knocking boots, Mr. Galloway.

We also now have a giant spike in same sex marriages, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about that in here. How refreshing it is that in today's society, that's completely normal and not taboo. I consider it progress that men and women now feel comfortable openly being who they are. Wasn't like that not all that long ago. Hooray for that.

Doom and gloom sells, so on with it. World is going stop spinning soon, I suppose.

I think the more concerning stats are 63% of men under 30 are single and 15% of them report having no friends, which is 5x more than from 1990.

30 years ago 55% of men reported having 6 more more friends, now it's about half that. It's a concerning trend.

Would you mind letting me (us) know where this data is coming from? Not saying I don't believe you, but unlike Scott Galloway, I can ask you to back up these figures so I can see where it comes from.

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

 

[bigbottom]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do. Might be possible that younger people consider gaming a social interaction much like we consider this to be one. My son plays XBox and talks to people the entire time. He also goes to bars, holds down a job, has a girlfriend....

Galloway’s premise is not that all young male adults are struggling. Your son is clearly awesome and not facing these challenges. But I have no doubt that there are many young adult males who are struggling with building and maintaining in person friendships and initiating and sustaining romantic relationships. Remote work, economic challenges, dopamine hits from targeted social media algorithms, accessibility to increasing levels of porn, all of these things are factors in the increased isolation we are seeing. Without getting wrapped up in the statistics of it all, which I have no idea as to the accuracy, I am seeing these things anecdotally just as you are seeing anecdotally on your FB feed and with your son that everything is A-OK.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do.

Sort of.

I think in a healthy way, they serve as a fun way to interact with a wider group of people than you would likely have in your local area.

But I think if this is the only or primary way one interacts, it can become extremely unhealthy.

 

[Scoresman]

Is he saying 40% of all existing bars have closed since COVID? Or 40% of bars that have opened since COVID have closed? Big difference. I'd believe the latter, but not the former.

 

[tri-man 47]

I'm going to need more info before clicking that link

He has a book basically saying young men are mess right now and older men need to step to be better role models for them.

I’m taking care of my boys in the 10K Thread. Y’all can handle everyone else.

 

[General Malaise]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do. Might be possible that younger people consider gaming a social interaction much like we consider this to be one. My son plays XBox and talks to people the entire time. He also goes to bars, holds down a job, has a girlfriend....

Galloway’s premise is not that all young male adults are struggling. Your son is clearly awesome and not facing these challenges. But I have no doubt that there are many young adult males who are struggling with building and maintaining in person friendships and initiating and sustaining romantic relationships. Remote work, economic challenges, dopamine hits from targeted social media algorithms, accessibility to increasing levels of porn, all of these things are factors in the increased isolation we are seeing. Without getting wrapped up in the statistics of it all, which I have no idea as to the accuracy, I am seeing these things anecdotally just as you are seeing anecdotally on your FB feed and with your son that everything is A-OK.

Everything is definitely not A-OK all the time but was it ever? I don't recall my early 20s as the most joyful time of life and I doubt the generation above ours (many of whom had to serve in the military during Vietnam) had it so much better than 20 year old men today. And god forbid we go back to WWII, etc.

You know what I would have liked in 1996 when I moved thousands of miles from home to a place where I had no friends or relatives? I would have liked the internet. I would have liked a smart phone and an ability to make my world smaller or connect. Yes, technology and social media and online porn can be bad things. But can't they also be good things?

I'm not running around with blinders on thinking that it's all frazzleberry yogurt and scones for all young men based on what I'm seeing through the lens of my sons but I'm also not buying that this generation is far worse off than prior generations. And I need more evidence than bars are closing or men arent asking women out on dates to persuade me that we need to ring alarm bells.

 

[the moops]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

 

[General Malaise]

All I know after this thread is that there are a boatload of young women out there drinking in whatever bars remain open and nobody is hitting on them so the odds have never been more in my favor to land some new love and take that to the bank.

 

[bigbottom]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do. Might be possible that younger people consider gaming a social interaction much like we consider this to be one. My son plays XBox and talks to people the entire time. He also goes to bars, holds down a job, has a girlfriend....

Galloway’s premise is not that all young male adults are struggling. Your son is clearly awesome and not facing these challenges. But I have no doubt that there are many young adult males who are struggling with building and maintaining in person friendships and initiating and sustaining romantic relationships. Remote work, economic challenges, dopamine hits from targeted social media algorithms, accessibility to increasing levels of porn, all of these things are factors in the increased isolation we are seeing. Without getting wrapped up in the statistics of it all, which I have no idea as to the accuracy, I am seeing these things anecdotally just as you are seeing anecdotally on your FB feed and with your son that everything is A-OK.

Everything is definitely not A-OK all the time but was it ever? I don't recall my early 20s as the most joyful time of life and I doubt the generation above ours (many of whom had to serve in the military during Vietnam) had it so much better than 20 year old men today. And god forbid we go back to WWII, etc.

You know what I would have liked in 1996 when I moved thousands of miles from home to a place where I had no friends or relatives? I would have liked the internet. I would have liked a smart phone and an ability to make my world smaller or connect. Yes, technology and social media and online porn can be bad things. But can't they also be good things?

I'm not running around with blinders on thinking that it's all frazzleberry yogurt and scones for all young men based on what I'm seeing through the lens of my sons but I'm also not buying that this generation is far worse off than prior generations. And I need more evidence than bars are closing or men arent asking women out on dates to persuade me that we need to ring alarm bells.

Fair point. If you need more evidence, perhaps you should consider reading the book to see if there is indeed reason to be concerned. That’s my plan.

 

[General Malaise]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

The market will tell us what cereals and fast food people like. Votes are tallied to determine winners. You can quantify it.

Am I out of line for asking how "we" know how many friends a man had 30 years ago vs today? I just want to know where that info comes from and how it was determined. Just curious because I think it's a very strange thing to track....and probably fabricated. If I'm wrong, well, show me.

 

[General Malaise]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do. Might be possible that younger people consider gaming a social interaction much like we consider this to be one. My son plays XBox and talks to people the entire time. He also goes to bars, holds down a job, has a girlfriend....

Galloway’s premise is not that all young male adults are struggling. Your son is clearly awesome and not facing these challenges. But I have no doubt that there are many young adult males who are struggling with building and maintaining in person friendships and initiating and sustaining romantic relationships. Remote work, economic challenges, dopamine hits from targeted social media algorithms, accessibility to increasing levels of porn, all of these things are factors in the increased isolation we are seeing. Without getting wrapped up in the statistics of it all, which I have no idea as to the accuracy, I am seeing these things anecdotally just as you are seeing anecdotally on your FB feed and with your son that everything is A-OK.

Everything is definitely not A-OK all the time but was it ever? I don't recall my early 20s as the most joyful time of life and I doubt the generation above ours (many of whom had to serve in the military during Vietnam) had it so much better than 20 year old men today. And god forbid we go back to WWII, etc.

You know what I would have liked in 1996 when I moved thousands of miles from home to a place where I had no friends or relatives? I would have liked the internet. I would have liked a smart phone and an ability to make my world smaller or connect. Yes, technology and social media and online porn can be bad things. But can't they also be good things?

I'm not running around with blinders on thinking that it's all frazzleberry yogurt and scones for all young men based on what I'm seeing through the lens of my sons but I'm also not buying that this generation is far worse off than prior generations. And I need more evidence than bars are closing or men arent asking women out on dates to persuade me that we need to ring alarm bells.

Fair point. If you need more evidence, perhaps you should consider reading the book to see if there is indeed reason to be concerned. That’s my plan.

Think I'll wait for the movie.

 

[the moops]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

The market will tell us what cereals and fast food people like. Votes are tallied to determine winners. You can quantify it.

Am I out of line for asking how "we" know how many friends a man had 30 years ago vs today? I just want to know where that info comes from and how it was determined. Just curious because I think it's a very strange thing to track....and probably fabricated. If I'm wrong, well, show me.

No not out of line. Just want you to be prepared that you probably wont like the methodology anyway

 

[Joe Bryant]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

The market will tell us what cereals and fast food people like. Votes are tallied to determine winners. You can quantify it.

Am I out of line for asking how "we" know how many friends a man had 30 years ago vs today? I just want to know where that info comes from and how it was determined. Just curious because I think it's a very strange thing to track....and probably fabricated. If I'm wrong, well, show me.

Sounds like the book may not be for you, GB!

All good. Not all books are for everyone. I'd say most books are not for everyone.

I'm not his publicist, so I don't know exactly where he got all his information. I do know he's a high-profile person and a professor at NY University. I'd be pretty surprised if he's just making things up. But who knows, maybe he is.

My anecdotal life experience lines up with some of the social isolation and loneliness things he talks about. But I'll read the book and see more.

 

[General Malaise]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

The market will tell us what cereals and fast food people like. Votes are tallied to determine winners. You can quantify it.

Am I out of line for asking how "we" know how many friends a man had 30 years ago vs today? I just want to know where that info comes from and how it was determined. Just curious because I think it's a very strange thing to track....and probably fabricated. If I'm wrong, well, show me.

No not out of line. Just want you to be prepared that you probably wont like the methodology anyway

But if I had it then I could determine whether I like it or not. Until then I'm just supposed to accept it?

 

[General Malaise]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

The market will tell us what cereals and fast food people like. Votes are tallied to determine winners. You can quantify it.

Am I out of line for asking how "we" know how many friends a man had 30 years ago vs today? I just want to know where that info comes from and how it was determined. Just curious because I think it's a very strange thing to track....and probably fabricated. If I'm wrong, well, show me.

Sounds like the book may not be for you, GB!

All good. Not all books are for everyone. I'd say most books are not for everyone.

I'm not his publicist, so I don't know exactly where he got all his information. I do know he's a high-profile person and a professor at NY University. I'd be pretty surprised if he's just making things up. But who knows, maybe he is.

My anecdotal life experience lines up with some of the social isolation and loneliness things he talks about. But I'll read the book and see more.

I certainly don't think he's just making it up as that would be career suicide but I'm very curious how he reached some of his figures. Let me know what you learn.

Haven't we all experienced social isolation and loneliness at some point? Maybe it's worse for young men today but I struggled quite a bit with it when I was in my early 20s. And I worry my kids will have to deal with it too, but they have options to talk to friends that we didn't have. There's value in that. I wish I had it back then but maybe I'm better for not having it? Interesting to ponder.

 

[Jayrod]

I would really like to see the proof that 40% of bars have closed since Covid. That's a staggering number. This guy throws numbers around absent any documentation or push back. Why is he being lionized exactly?

And I'm sure all the men he went after are busy watching Good Morning America to get his memo.

Yes, because citing sources and statistical data gathering/sampling methodology makes for a great talk show interview.

Sorry for wanting accuracy. My bad.

Your bad for what you said, not your intentions.

Asking a person to provide data to back up their claims isn't a bad thing, but you disagree it seems. 80% of the world agrees with me.

Him not citing sources in a TV segment is not the same as not providing backup data since there's a whole book with all of that info readily available, but you don't seem to actually care about the information since you won't even try and read it.

Good luck with whatever your point is.

 

[rockaction]

Richard Reeves came out with a very similar book two years ago. I started a thread about it. Reeves was/is (?) from the Brookings Institution, which tilts leftward. One of my bosses/superiors was talking about this as far back as the nineties. We’ve talked about it at length on this board at times.

I’m sort of surprised that this is a surprising topic for a lot of us. I’m withholding judgment about it. I’m just surprised. I know bigbottom was in the Reeves thread and has always shown an interest in this.

I do not know about the COVID claims. I think that’s probably the wrong thing as a “grab ya” because then people become concentrated on that statistic.

The achievement gap was worrisome in the nineties. I remember that those were alarming stats back then and they’ve gotten worse.

I do not think that saying co-ed public schools tilt more towards female behaviors is controversial in the least. We had single-sex schools for a long time in various forms not just to separate by puberty but by temperament. We aren’t all totally plastic, IMO. Not tabula rasas, as it were. This is my opinion only.

That’s about all I have.

 

[urbanhack]

All I know after this thread is that there are a boatload of young women out there drinking in whatever bars remain open and nobody is hitting on them so the odds have never been more in my favor to land some new love and take that to the bank.

Where the bars with the middle aged women? Asking for a friend

 

[the moops]

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

The sample size does not need to be very large to extrapolate this info. So it shouldn't be surprising that neither you or I or whoever else never got asked this question in a survey.

I also have never been asked who I am voting for, or what my favorite cereal is, or how many times I eat fast food or whatever else

The market will tell us what cereals and fast food people like. Votes are tallied to determine winners. You can quantify it.

Am I out of line for asking how "we" know how many friends a man had 30 years ago vs today? I just want to know where that info comes from and how it was determined. Just curious because I think it's a very strange thing to track....and probably fabricated. If I'm wrong, well, show me.

No not out of line. Just want you to be prepared that you probably wont like the methodology anyway

But if I had it then I could determine whether I like it or not. Until then I'm just supposed to accept it?

No not at all. I haven’t asked you to. I would also like to see the underlying stats

 

[General Malaise]

I would really like to see the proof that 40% of bars have closed since Covid. That's a staggering number. This guy throws numbers around absent any documentation or push back. Why is he being lionized exactly?

And I'm sure all the men he went after are busy watching Good Morning America to get his memo.

Yes, because citing sources and statistical data gathering/sampling methodology makes for a great talk show interview.

Sorry for wanting accuracy. My bad.

Your bad for what you said, not your intentions.

Asking a person to provide data to back up their claims isn't a bad thing, but you disagree it seems. 80% of the world agrees with me.

Him not citing sources in a TV segment is not the same as not providing backup data since there's a whole book with all of that info readily available, but you don't seem to actually care about the information since you won't even try and read it.

Good luck with whatever your point is.

You know damn well what my point is, don't pretend like you don't get it. You admitted that it's bad TV for an author to cite his claim that 40% of all bars and pubs have closed since Covid. I think it is bad journalism not to push back on his claim but these aren't journalists and we have no idea how he obtained this figure. I'm not buying his book just so I can find out where and how he got his data. I trust Bignottom and Joe Bryant will inform us after they read it. Or you can. But it sho won't be me buying it.

 

[General Malaise]

All I know after this thread is that there are a boatload of young women out there drinking in whatever bars remain open and nobody is hitting on them so the odds have never been more in my favor to land some new love and take that to the bank.

Where the bars with the middle aged women? Asking for a friend

There aren't any because 40% of them have closed and all the middle aged women are in super happy relationships with all the well adjusted and totally happy middle aged men.

 

[McBokonon]

All I know after this thread is that there are a boatload of young women out there drinking in whatever bars remain open and nobody is hitting on them so the odds have never been more in my favor to land some new love and take that to the bank.

Where the bars with the middle aged women? Asking for a friend

I think they put them all inside Target

 

[dickey moe]

The first thing young men need to do is get rid of this god awful haircut that seems to be trending.

Better than those mushroom cuts or Edgar's or whatever they're called.

 

[dickey moe]

I would really like to see the proof that 40% of bars have closed since Covid. That's a staggering number. This guy throws numbers around absent any documentation or push back. Why is he being lionized exactly?

And I'm sure all the men he went after are busy watching Good Morning America to get his memo.

Yes, because citing sources and statistical data gathering/sampling methodology makes for a great talk show interview.

Sorry for wanting accuracy. My bad.

Your bad for what you said, not your intentions.

Asking a person to provide data to back up their claims isn't a bad thing, but you disagree it seems. 80% of the world agrees with me.

Yeah but 10% of those are goofballs.

 

[Harry Manback]

I don't know if the 40% is accurate but it doesn't sound all that crazy. I remember reading that it is close to 1 out of 3 bars/restaurants don't survive their first year so 40% being closed since 2020 doesn't sound outrageous. I imagine that 40% doesn't take into all the new places that have opened in that timeframe though

Yea, there is responsibility on the person presenting the statistics to use them in a reasonable way. Galloway claimed 40% of bars closing caused a loss of socializing places for young men and women. Even if his statistic were accurate, supposing that rate of bar failure is normal and the total number of bars has actually increased since Covid, then Galloway becomes an untrustworthy source of information.

Meanwhile, there are 50 million people using Bumble, 75 million people using Tinder and 85 million registered users of Ashley Madison. Somebody is getting out there and knocking boots, Mr. Galloway.

We also now have a giant spike in same sex marriages, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about that in here. How refreshing it is that in today's society, that's completely normal and not taboo. I consider it progress that men and women now feel comfortable openly being who they are. Wasn't like that not all that long ago. Hooray for that.

Doom and gloom sells, so on with it. World is going stop spinning soon, I suppose.

I think the more concerning stats are 63% of men under 30 are single and 15% of them report having no friends, which is 5x more than from 1990.

30 years ago 55% of men reported having 6 more more friends, now it's about half that. It's a concerning trend.

Would you mind letting me (us) know where this data is coming from? Not saying I don't believe you, but unlike Scott Galloway, I can ask you to back up these figures so I can see where it comes from.

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

For Valentine’s Day, 5 facts about single Americans

The percentage of single Americans who are looking for a relationship or casual dates is lower than in 2019, especially among men.

www.pewresearch.org

The State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss - The Survey Center on American Life

The May 2021 American Perspectives Survey finds that Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support.

www.americansurveycenter.org

This is some of the data.

 

[Northern Voice]

Do we count this message board as social interaction? I know I do.

Sort of.

I think in a healthy way, they serve as a fun way to interact with a wider group of people than you would likely have in your local area.

But I think if this is the only or primary way one interacts, it can become extremely unhealthy.

Yeah I think this is absolutely social interaction but it can't be the only form of it. I'm probably more online than I should be between, here, Reddit, Tiktok etc... I consume a fair amount of social media.

But I'm also at my squash club 3x a week, at the brewery for a pint every Friday, at the arena to watch the local hockey team every Thursday and with my wife the rest of time.

But I think we also have to recognize that maybe we've been wired differently. I hated COVID times. I believe I truly NEED all these social interactions or I'm pretty miserable to be honest but a lot of that came about because I was raised playing sports and going to events and around large groups of people socializing.

Fast forward 15-20 years (I'm not blaming COVID, I think it's that and social media and internet and online interactions all coming together) to where people aren't raised in a climate of playing baseball 2x a week, at a live sporting event another night and hanging around my parents social group and their kids my age another night... That was my reality, of course now that I can make my own choices, I seek out the same things.

But if you're raised on more screens, less interactions, just less "doing stuff" it probably gets a lot easier to just keep not doing stuff. And it's probably only going to get worse as we all become more and more online.

I don't have/want kids. But if I did, I would have a social network I could drop them into but if the teens and 20/30 somethings that we're talking about now already don't, how screwed is the next generation?

 

[Mister CIA]

All I know after this thread is that there are a boatload of young women out there drinking in whatever bars remain open and nobody is hitting on them so the odds have never been more in my favor to land some new love and take that to the bank.

Where the bars with the middle aged women? Asking for a friend

Research is needed, but I think the best way to meet middle-aged women is to get a part-time gig working a register in a liquor store. A++ for efficiency.

...still thinking about it.

 

[General Malaise]

I don't know if the 40% is accurate but it doesn't sound all that crazy. I remember reading that it is close to 1 out of 3 bars/restaurants don't survive their first year so 40% being closed since 2020 doesn't sound outrageous. I imagine that 40% doesn't take into all the new places that have opened in that timeframe though

Yea, there is responsibility on the person presenting the statistics to use them in a reasonable way. Galloway claimed 40% of bars closing caused a loss of socializing places for young men and women. Even if his statistic were accurate, supposing that rate of bar failure is normal and the total number of bars has actually increased since Covid, then Galloway becomes an untrustworthy source of information.

Meanwhile, there are 50 million people using Bumble, 75 million people using Tinder and 85 million registered users of Ashley Madison. Somebody is getting out there and knocking boots, Mr. Galloway.

We also now have a giant spike in same sex marriages, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about that in here. How refreshing it is that in today's society, that's completely normal and not taboo. I consider it progress that men and women now feel comfortable openly being who they are. Wasn't like that not all that long ago. Hooray for that.

Doom and gloom sells, so on with it. World is going stop spinning soon, I suppose.

I think the more concerning stats are 63% of men under 30 are single and 15% of them report having no friends, which is 5x more than from 1990.

30 years ago 55% of men reported having 6 more more friends, now it's about half that. It's a concerning trend.

Would you mind letting me (us) know where this data is coming from? Not saying I don't believe you, but unlike Scott Galloway, I can ask you to back up these figures so I can see where it comes from.

Nobody asked me 30 years ago how many friends I had. Did you guys get asked this question? Was it a survey?

For Valentine’s Day, 5 facts about single Americans

The percentage of single Americans who are looking for a relationship or casual dates is lower than in 2019, especially among men.

www.pewresearch.org

The State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss - The Survey Center on American Life

The May 2021 American Perspectives Survey finds that Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support.

www.americansurveycenter.org

This is some of the data.

Roughly six-in-ten young men report being single. Overall, three-in-ten U.S. adults are single, meaning they are not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship. This share has not changed since the Center asked this question in 2019.


Sooooo........BEFORE Covid? Before 40% of all bars and pubs closed down?

 

[General Malaise]

Younger singles are also more likely than older singles to say they are currently looking for dates and/or a relationship. Some 57% of unpartnered adults under 50 say this, compared with 36% of those 50 to 64 and 16% of those 65 and older.

Boy, groundbreaking stuff here. Guys over 50 and 65 don't want a relationship? I'm 52 and in one and I don't want one anymore. And this flies in the face of the original premise that younger men don't want relationships.

 

[Northern Voice]

A few other notes on some of the stats there now that I've watched the video again while not also working...

- 60% living at home until >24 years old is very unsurprising, our housing system is broken.

- Related, I don't know to what extent we can talk about what he brings up about transfer of wealth away from younger generations in favour of older generations without it being political but it's a massive issue. People under the age of 40 are 24% less wealthy according to him and I absolutely believe it.

My commentary - I am 42 years old and I own two houses, basically because I was the last generation born in a time where salary + housing costs allowed for me to do so. I work with people only 5-10 years younger than me, making similar money to me, who will never own a home just because of housing costs rising and salaries... Not. My first house cost me 215k in 2010 and is worth 750k now... average salaries have definitely not 3x'd in that time.


- 15% no close friends is very sad
- social media as a rage machine. Absolutely. Rage and divisiveness selling more than sex (or let's say engaging people more than sex) - I can totally see it but it's definitely foreign to my experience as a young male which was very little rage but a whole lot of stiff socks - big change for sure and I can see it.


The biggest part of the whole thing - his words:

"Why do we have a lack of empathy, why is there an understandable gag reflex (to the idea of young men being the ones in trouble when men, particularly young, white, American ones), 80% of the prosperity in the world from 1945-2000 was shifted to the 5% of the population who were Americans, and then a third of those got all the prosperity, specifically white heterosexual males, so the bottom line is I had unfair advantage but should we hold a 19 year old male responsible for my unfair advantage"

My commentary - I don't know. Maybe? That's an obscene transfer of wealth and prosperity to a very small group of people. In the big picture, is it absolutely absurd to think that young American males are the group, of all the global demographic cohorts that are a major concern? Because they aren't going out and getting laid? Is this actually "Notes on being a (White American) man? I guess it depends how far we want to zoom out but in the big, big, big picture a lot of this seems to come back to the same old problems of wealth distribution being entirely out of line in our society and it being without a doubt the number one issue we ALL face but that pretty quickly gets political, so we can't dig deep on these boards even though it's probably the root of the entire thing.

- He seems a little fixated on "lifelike porn" maybe that is a much bigger issue than I think but I remember being 13 and my 23 year old brother asking me to help him find porn (I was good at computers) so I don't think that's hugely new. Not to mention 50 years of Penthouse/Playboy/Hustler before that. Hell aren't there pornographic stone carvings?

 

[General Malaise]

But the news is not universally negative. The survey paints a more complex and perhaps more fluid picture of American friendships. Roughly half of Americans report having lost touch with at least one friend during the pandemic. But, surprisingly, nearly as many Americans report having made a new friend over this same period. Many Americans report having activity friendships or situational friends—people they see at certain times or places—and most Americans have a best friend, even if it’s fewer than in the past.


Tell you what, you guys go ahead and focus on the negative. I'm going to look at the positive. Have a good night.

 

[General Malaise]

You guys need to open a history book. The power and monetary control has always - ALWAYS - been controlled by a tiny sliver of people and institutions. It isn't worse today than it was 100 years ago and if you REALLY want to go back, what do you think it looked like in Feudal times or prior when the Pope ruled everything and split it with a kind king.


Come on......I know some of you know this. It was taught in history 101.

 

[Northern Voice]

You guys need to open a history book. The power and monetary control has always - ALWAYS - been controlled by a tiny sliver of people and institutions. It isn't worse today than it was 100 years ago and if you REALLY want to go back, what do you think it looked like in Feudal times or prior when the Pope ruled everything and split it with a kind king.


Come on......I know some of you know this. It was taught in history 101.

You don't think there's more disparity, more poverty, more extreme wealth,smaller middle/upper-middle class than in the past?

 

[General Malaise]

And did we have African American billionaires 100 years ago? 50 years ago? Openly gay billionaires? Female billionaires? How about 25 years ago?

No. We are making progress as a people. But sure, sell you're bad news and warn us all how we're screwed. Nobody is buying a book on how good we're doing.

 

[Northern Voice]

And did we have African American billionaires 100 years ago? 50 years ago? Openly gay billionaires? Female billionaires? How about 25 years ago?

No. We are making progress as a people. But sure, sell you're bad news and warn us all how we're screwed. Nobody is buying a book on how good we're doing.

If you think more billionaires is progress as a people... sure?

But I think the argument here is that more and more wealth is being transferred away from the younger generations.

 

[General Malaise]

You guys need to open a history book. The power and monetary control has always - ALWAYS - been controlled by a tiny sliver of people and institutions. It isn't worse today than it was 100 years ago and if you REALLY want to go back, what do you think it looked like in Feudal times or prior when the Pope ruled everything and split it with a kind king.


Come on......I know some of you know this. It was taught in history 101.

You don't think there's more disparity, more poverty, more extreme wealth,smaller middle/upper-middle class than in the past?

No! Absolutely not! You think it was better during slavery? Jim Crow? Buddy, pick up a history book and read about the Great Depression. You think we have it worse today? The age of Rockefeller and Carnegie and Ford were way way worse in terms of income inequality.

 

[Northern Voice]

You guys need to open a history book. The power and monetary control has always - ALWAYS - been controlled by a tiny sliver of people and institutions. It isn't worse today than it was 100 years ago and if you REALLY want to go back, what do you think it looked like in Feudal times or prior when the Pope ruled everything and split it with a kind king.


Come on......I know some of you know this. It was taught in history 101.

You don't think there's more disparity, more poverty, more extreme wealth,smaller middle/upper-middle class than in the past?

No! Absolutely not! You think it was better during slavery? Jim Crow? Buddy, pick up a history book and read about the Great Depression. You think we have it worse today? The age of Rockefeller and Carnegie and Ford were way way worse in terms of income inequality.

Okay, how about the 40s-00s though?

You know, when people could actually work a decent job and own a home.

 

[Harry Manback]

Younger singles are also more likely than older singles to say they are currently looking for dates and/or a relationship. Some 57% of unpartnered adults under 50 say this, compared with 36% of those 50 to 64 and 16% of those 65 and older.

Boy, groundbreaking stuff here. Guys over 50 and 65 don't want a relationship? I'm 52 and in one and I don't want one anymore. And this flies in the face of the original premise that younger men don't want relationships.

You seem really bothered by this. This doesn’t mean your boys will suffer this fate. You don’t have to try and invalidate it.

 

[the moops]

@General Malaise needs a @shuke eat-off to suppress all this anger