"We are all alone together": male loneliness, relational recognition, and peer support in YouTube public discourse
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction Male loneliness has emerged as a significant public health concern, yet men's experiences of disconnection remain underexplored in naturalistic digital settings. This study examines how male loneliness is described and publicly negotiated in a large YouTube comment corpus. Methods Data were drawn from the comment section of The Male Loneliness Epidemic, which had generated 57,359 comments and more than five million views at extraction. Following cleaning, 45,807 comments were analysed using computational methods to examine sentiment, emotion-related language, recurring concerns, and differences between parent comments and replies. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on a purposive subsample of 654 comments. Results The comments contained expressions of distress alongside encouragement, care, and solidarity. Five qualitative themes showed that commenters frequently described loneliness not simply as a lack of social contact, but as feeling unseen, unheard, or emotionally unsupported. They discussed difficulties expressing vulnerability, the dismissal or misunderstanding of men's emotional needs, pressures associated with masculine and provider expectations, and the importance of being acknowledged by others. Replies were less negative and contained more trust-related language than parent comments. Some replies offered validation, encouragement, and recognition to those describing loneliness. Discussion The findings suggest that male loneliness in this YouTube corpus was often framed as relational deprivation, involving a perceived absence of recognition, emotional reciprocity, and being valued. Drawing on precarious manhood theory, recognition theory, and affective publics, the study shows how YouTube comment threads can provide opportunities for public acknowledgement and recognition-oriented peer interaction, although the findings do not establish that loneliness was reduced.
Source: Frontiers in Communication
Authors: Anurag Shekhar, Thulile L. Ngonyama-Ndou
Institution: University of South Africa
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,418
OpenAlex ID: W7225736985