Testosterone testing pitched to young men amid ‘masculinity crisis,’ study says

A new study says social media influencers are promoting testosterone treatments as a way for men to assert their masculinity. (Credit: Pexels)

Social media influencers are increasingly promoting testosterone testing and treatments as a way for men to assert their masculinity, according to a new study that examined posts on TikTok and Instagram.

Conducted by the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health, the study highlights how marketing, biomedical claims and online culture shape perceptions of the “ideal” male body and behaviour.

Testosterone as a ‘remedy’ for masculinity

The study found that social media posts often target younger men, aged 20 to 40, framing testosterone testing and treatment as solutions to a perceived masculinity crisis. Posts often promised increased muscularity and heightened sexual performance, often linking to products or clinics for purchase.

One Instagram performance coach cited by the study shared his views with more than 11,000 followers, promoting testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT.

“By understanding how critical (testosterone, or “T” as they referred to it) is for male health and performance, you will see why so many males are now using TRT to increase their levels to the highest bracket of their age group or ‘supra’ physiological levels,” the post said.

Of the 46 posts analyzed, 72 per cent had financial ties, including ownership of wellness brands selling testosterone boosters or sponsorships from the pharmaceutical industry. About 67 per cent provided links to purchase products or schedule consultations, and 31 per cent of individual influencers claimed to be medical doctors.

“Younger men … were really being aggressively targeted by these influencers and wellness companies, marketing these hormone tests and treatments as this idea to be a real man,” said Dr. Brooke Nickel, senior author on the study and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health, in an interview with CTVNews.ca.

“(They propagate this idea that) you’re not a real man if you don’t have these kinds of optimal testosterone levels, if you’re not … getting tested for any kind of normal life symptom that all men and women have, in terms of being tired or having a little bit of stress.”

The research also highlighted how social media content can shape emotional experiences tied to masculinity, reinforcing a binary of “real men” versus feminized men.

One influencer, quoted in the study, said he had delayed getting blood work for years, and when he finally saw the results, he felt alarmed because he was only slightly above what he considered the “female” range.

Nickel also noted the high reach of the posts.

“We do know that these influencers were kind of more influential influencers, so they had a large number of followers,” she said, adding that the 46 posts analyzed in the study generated more than 650,000 likes in total.

‘What does it mean to be a real man?’

Experts say the appeal of testosterone-focused content cannot be separated from broader dynamics around identity, belonging and online influence.

Clinical psychologist Melissa Greenberg said the trend is concerning, because it pathologizes normal experiences and can leave young men feeling deficient.

“They’re not posing an open question, ‘what does it mean to be a real man?’ They’re saying, ‘Here’s what it means to be a real man, and if you don’t fit our definition … of what it means to be a real man, then there’s a problem with you,’” she said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.

“It certainly creates this sense of being less than. If you are not what they are showing, then you are less than.”

Greenberg noted that even people who are experienced social media users, and recognize that some online personas are curated or misleading, can still be drawn in by them because of the sense of trust and belonging they create.

“When you have this feeling of intimacy and trust with these influencers that you might follow or who present themselves as trying to help you really live your best life … it’s just so convincing,” she said.

Belonging and algorithmic pull

Janos Botschner, a social scientist and senior associate with the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, echoed similar concerns, pointing to human tendencies that make influencer culture particularly powerful.

“We evolved to place a lot of trust in what we saw were and felt were our groups,” he said in an interview with CTVNews.ca. “Sometimes that stick togetherness is really valuable. Other times when it’s more about we want to be with those who are like us and we don’t want to be with those who are not like us, that can lead to problems for everybody.”

Botschner said repetition plays a key role in shaping beliefs, particularly on algorithm-driven platforms.

“If you hear something often enough or if you see something often enough, it’s very, very hard to let go of it,” he said. “Even when we understand that, sometimes we have to take some very deliberate steps to kind of push it out of our minds.”

One of those steps, Greenberg said, is to reduce online exposure and be more intentional about who we follow.

“I do recommend that people regularly, like maybe once a month, go through their feeds and think pretty critically about who they’re following and how each person they’re following makes them feel,” she said. “Before following any medical advice, you should talk to a licensed medical practitioner that you trust.”

She also stressed the importance of questioning why certain accounts feel influential.

“Are you following them because they make you laugh, or are you following them because you really think that they have the best advice for you,” she said. “If it’s the latter, then what qualifications do they have and what financial incentives might they have.”

Botschner warned that some online content deliberately leverages people’s desire to belong, sometimes to sell products, and in other cases to draw people toward ideologies that may harm both individuals and society.

“These are really powerful characteristics of us as humans and as groups of humans that are being skillfully manipulated,” he said. “If someone says ... that influencer is who I want to be like … your desire to belong and then to prove to yourself and others that you’re a valid member of that group, that could be stronger than your understanding that what you’re hearing isn’t quite right.”