The Secret Lives of Young Men

What exactly is going on in the minds of young men? It's a question that society keeps coming back to these days because, truth is, we're worried. Everything we're told about the rising generation of men in America—everything they're told about themselves, in the media, the academic research, the employment data, the mental-health studies—is about how royally screwed they are. And that has consequences for all of us.

Rather than add our voice to the chorus of speculation about what guys are thinking and feeling about the world, we had a radical idea: Let's just ask them. Not all of them, of course. There are nearly 16 million men in the U. S. between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. We weren't looking to conduct yet another survey. Instead, we wanted to have long conversations with a relatively small group about what it's like to be a young man in America right now.

View in Browser  SHOP EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBE How Do Young Men See the World? We Asked Them. What exactly is going on in the minds of young men? It's a question that society keeps coming back to these days because, truth is, we're worried. Everything we're told about the rising generation of men in America—everything they're told about themselves, in the media, the academic research, the employment data, the mental-health studies—is about how royally screwed they are. And that has consequences for all of us. Rather than add our voice to the chorus of speculation about what guys are thinking and feeling about the world, we had a radical idea: Let's just ask them. Not all of them, of course. There are nearly 16 million men in the U. S. between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. We weren't looking to conduct yet another survey. Instead, we wanted to have long conversations with a relatively small group about what it's like to be a young man in America right now. Read More Shockingly, the New AirPods 4 Are Just $100 Right Now This is a record-low deal folks. Read More Trump and Musk's Carnival Midway Act Was Transcendentally Weird Where do we begin? Read More Seth Rogen is the Boss Now Rogen has been famous since he was seventeen, very famous since he was twenty-five, happily married since he was twenty-nine, and stoned for most of it. Through the production company he runs with Goldberg, Point Grey Pictures, he's got about a half dozen television shows currently on the air and a couple films on the way. Now forty-two, he also has a thriving weed and weed-paraphernalia business, zero children, and a laugh that you can hear in your head now that I've brought it up. "I don't know if Point Grey has a guiding philosophy," he says, "other than, like, we make the stuff that we would be upset if someone else made it." Read More Lanolips Is the Best Lip Balm on Earth The cure to my chapped lips and crusty cuticles has actually been around for millennia. Read More Cash Ain't Dead. So You Need a Good Wallet. You can tap to pay all you want, but here's where to store your bills. Read More Does 'Saturday Night Live' Still Matter to Young Comedians? Despite shifts in the film industry, SNL's breakout stars continued to thrive in Hollywood, largely thanks to Lorne Michaels's strategic maneuvers. If studios weren't interested in his roster of talent, Michaels simply created opportunities for them himself. "Lorne gives you a rope, and you can either climb it or hang yourself with it," says Michael Delaney, who often appeared as an extra in SNL sketches before becoming a longtime instructor at the legendary Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB). "Michaels wants to be the big poppa, the hand that feeds, and Daddy decides who gets what." Read More Follow Us Unsubscribe | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2025 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779