Social media influencers such as Andrew Tate are fuelling an increase in misogyny and sexism in schools, teachers believe.
Nearly three in five (59 per cent) teachers said they believe social media use has contributed to a deterioration in pupils’ behaviour in schools, according to a poll by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).
The survey, of more than 5,800 union members, suggests that teachers think social media is the number one cause of negative pupil behaviour.
The findings have been released as part of NASUWT’s annual conference in Liverpool this weekend.
In the survey, one teacher said: ‘We had some incidents in school with derogatory language towards female staff (e.g. boys barking at female staff and blocking doorways so they couldn’t leave the classroom), as a direct result of Andrew Tate videos.’
Another said: ‘In an all-boys school, low socio-economic area, the “Andrew Tate” phenomena had a huge impact on how they interacted with females and males they did not see as “masculine”.’
Influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate has 10.7million followers on social media platform X, expressing views including that women are the ‘property’ of men
Influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate has 10.7million followers on social media platform X, expressing views including that women are the ‘property’ of men
The survey, of more than 5,800 union members, suggests that teachers think social media is the number one cause of negative pupil behaviour
Andrew Tate (right) faces allegations of sexual assault in the UK and of human trafficking in Romania, which he denies
Influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate has 10.7million followers on social media platform X, expressing views including that women are the ‘property’ of men.
He faces allegations of sexual assault in the UK and of human trafficking in Romania, which he denies.
Delegates at the conference will debate a motion which suggests far-Right and populist movements have shifted the recruitment of pupils on to social media, messaging and online gaming platforms.
The motion calls on the union’s executive to work with teachers ‘to assess the risk that far-Right and populist movements pose to young people’ and with the Government to support teachers in ‘challenging far-Right and populist narratives.’
A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘We are supporting the sector in their crucial role building young people’s resilience to extremism.’
