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Andrew Tate's views are reaching teens, but they probably don't like his ideas, psychologist says

High-profile and widely reviled internet influencer Andrew Tate might be all over social media feeds at the moment, but there's no reason to panic, according to clinical psychologist and cyber safety trainer Jordan Foster.

Tate, a 35-year-old former kickboxer, was banned earlier this month from Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. He has espoused misogynistic views about the treatment of women and has said that "depression isn't real".

In 2016, he was forced to leave the Big Brother UK house after a video of him whipping a woman with a belt surfaced. 

He later went on to run internet training courses about getting rich quick and relationship and dating advice.

Concern about the extent to which his ideas are being shared among teenagers has prompted concern among school communities and parents, with numerous schools sending advice to parents on how to talk to their children about him, after hearing students repeat his words.

'It's being shoved in their faces'

Ms Foster said that while Tate's ideas were spreading widely, that did not necessarily reflect support for his views.

"It really comes down to how social media algorithms work," Ms Foster told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth.

"The reason it's got so much attention is actually more to do with the outrage than people agreeing with Tate themselves.

"But the problem is that because people are so outraged, understandably, by what he is saying, it has been building traction online and he's actually been getting more exposure.

"Kids aren't necessarily going, 'Oh, I really agree with Andrew Tate, therefore, I'm seeking out his content' — it is being shoved into their faces."

The knowledge that children are being exposed to clips from a man who has made comments like "female rape victims are partially responsible for attacks" has many parents and teachers worried

"I'm getting a lot of phone calls from really concerned teachers, a lot of phone calls from concerned parents," she said.

"When I've gone and spoken to kids, by and large, they don't agree with what he says, so I think we need to take a step back as a community and go actually, our kids are doing mostly OK."

Ask kids what they've seen

Ms Foster suggests parents simply ask their children if they had seen Tate's content and what they thought of it.

"A lot of parents think they don't want to put his name into their minds if they haven't otherwise heard of it, but it's highly likely that they have, even as a just a general conversation at school, they've probably heard his name," she said.

"Even if they don't know who it is, do you want to be the one that tells them in a healthy way or do you want them to hear about it from their friends?

"I think parents taking ownership over that narrative is actually really empowering and really important."

She said most children would likely say they had heard of him, but did not agree with his views.

When to be concerned

Meanwhile, she says there are some kids who either agree with his ideas or who don't understand the severity and are repeating them as a joke, and that's worth having a further conversation.

"It's good for parents to remind kids that it might be funny to them, but it might actually have a negative impact on people because it's threatening, it's scary, it's upsetting," she said.

"Teenage girls are really concerned about this because they are worried that their friends are going to agree with this, and therefore potentially act violently or aggressively towards them."

Parents and teachers can also advise kids on being positive bystanders.

"The advice that I have for kids being bystanders is if you see a friend of yours pretending to be Andrew Tate, just give him a tap on the shoulder and say, 'Hey, that's not on, that might actually make other people feel uncomfortable'," she said.

If a young person does seem genuinely enthusiastic about the ideas, the key is to find out why.

"Andrew Tate's messaging is all about masculinity," she said.

"What a child might actually be feeling is a little bit insecure, and what they're seeing is this person who's the pinnacle of masculinity and confidence.

"What you can teach that child is how to build up your own confidence and security without necessarily embodying these really toxic traits, because there is a difference between masculinity and toxic masculinity."

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