Ladcultures: Social Networking Sites, 'Laddism' and Young Masculinities, 2020-2021

A key focus of this project was to consider how ‘lad’ and ‘laddish’ behaviours fit into wider processes of developing young masculine identities on social media spaces. Key questions this project wished to address were: what does it mean to be a ‘lad’ on social media? What sort of content is posted, shared and liked within these spaces? What role do these digitized spaces play in forming friendships and social connections, both on and offline? To what extent do ‘laddish’ practices on social media influence young people’s behaviour in online and offline spaces? This project aimed to make a positive societal impact by using its key research findings to develop training resources for community-based organisations in the UK who support young people in critically exploring, understanding and navigating masculinized practices in online spaces and beyond.<p>A key focus of this project is to consider how ‘lad’ and ‘laddish’ behaviours fit into wider processes of developing young masculine identities on social media spaces. Key questions this project wishes to address are: what does it mean to be a ‘lad’ on social media? What sort of content is posted, shared and liked within these spaces? What role do these digitized spaces play in forming friendships and social connections, both on and offline? To what extent do ‘laddish’ practices on social media influence young people’s behaviour in online and offline spaces?

Aims & Methodologies
This project aims to make a positive societal impact by using its key research findings to develop training resources for community-based organisations in the UK who support young people in critically exploring, understanding and navigating masculinized practices in online spaces and beyond.

This project will address these research objectives by:

Employing qualitative research methods (non-participant observation, data scraping, focus groups and interviews) to critically examine how young men (aged 18-25 years) use social media to form and develop their masculinised identifications, social connections and networks, from the perspective of all gendered groups in this age group.
Exploring the extent to which gender-making practices associated with lad identities in UK contexts influence young people’s behaviour both online and offline.
Investigating the role that social media networks, particularly digital infrastructures, play in the development of young masculinities, particularly those associated with ‘laddish’ identities.
Working with three UK community-based partners - Beyond Equality, Survivors Network and METRO to help develop research-based training materials, to support young people in critically exploring, understanding and navigating masculinised practices in online spaces and beyond.</p>