This report examines the online experiences of young men in Australia aged 16 to 21 years old. It’s based on the findings from a qualitative study involving more than 100 young men. It explores what influences, motivates, shapes and informs the online experiences of young men in their own words, based on focus groups and in-depth interviews. As one of the first generations growing up entirely in the digital age, their online experiences are marked by tensions, complexities and possibilities.

The research looks at how young men:

• shape and express their identities online
• explore sexuality online
• access and navigate social connections online.

The discussions and stories of young men in this study reveal that there are complex tensions when they describe their online experiences between freedom and anxiety, intimacy and caution, and connection and harm. In navigating these tensions, the young men we spoke to grapple with what it means to be a man in the digital age – sometimes conforming with harmful beliefs about manhood and masculinity, and at other times rejecting them.