How Electronic Boy Meaning Shapes Children’s Development and Learning

E-boys may be a youth subculture whose popularity was driven by the social media platform TikTok. Still, their cult of cool is shedding light on Gen Z male mental health and dismantling conventions of toxic masculinity.

With middle-parted hair, silver punk jewelry, and skater clothes, boys are close cousins to the moody emo boys of the early 2000s. Their angsty persona is reflected in the music they listen to.

The name “eboy” is an abbreviation for “electronic boy”, and it refers to e-boy’s fascination with uploading selfies and existential ideas to social media. In the late 2010s, e-boys and e-girls began to surface on social media.

Meanings of E-Boys

E-boys are an online subculture that emerged when TikTok’s popularity surged. Standing for “electronic boy,” the term refers to a persona that is both fluent in internet culture and unapologetically in touch with emotions, challenging traditional notions of masculinity. The e-boy aesthetic features baggy streetwear and grunge clothing that was popular in the early 2000s with a resurgence in late-2018. They often wear black nail polish and have hair that is dyed or parted in the middle. 

Regarding music, e-boys are drawn to genres dealing with depression and anxiety. Typical genres include emo, goth, and punk. They also tend to listen to music with a heavy rock or psychedelic influence and lo-fi terrorcore.

E-Boys’ Socialization

As the name suggests, the eboy meaning is inextricably linked to the internet. They are the male equivalent of the e-girl phenomenon (spelled as E-girl and E-boy) – a subculture that emerged in the 2010s, coined to describe women perceived to be seeking attention on the web.

Like e-girls, the e-boy aesthetic is a mash-up of earlier styles of alternative fashion and modern internet pop culture. You’ll find a mix of 90s skate culture, goth, and alternative with K-pop and rap music, layered with black nail polish and shapes under the eyes. You’ll also see the signature e-boy hairstyle – two strands of hair that dangle over the brow – and clothing influenced by emo and scene fashion.

While older generations initially viewed the e-boy movement with disdain, its emergence has given rise to an alternative to toxic masculinity for boys and men. In digital, school, and sports group-based settings where boys can engage in positive aspects of masculine socialization such as friendship and connection, e-boys can be themselves without fear of being judged.

E-Boys’ Aesthetics

In many ways, e-boys are the Gen Z equivalent of the emo and scene kids who posted grainy photos on Tumblr in the 2000s. But this time, they live on the internet, and their popularity is driven by TikTok videos that feature clothing transformations, lip-syncing, or the infamous temple tap and eye roll. E-boys often appear in a mishmash of alternative aesthetics, like thick chains and chokers or 90s Leonardo DiCaprio curtain hairstyles, with more feminine features such as caked-on blush, rainbow-colored hair, and a soft anime flair.

Though e-boys are often ridiculed for their supposedly “girly” aesthetic, they symbolize Gen Z’s rejection of toxic masculinity. Unlike the emo boys of the mid-2000s, who were criticized for their feminine features and feelings, Gen Z guys are more open about talking about their emotions and feel comfortable expressing themselves in their style, whether it be a smoky black blazer or a floral T-shirt.

They embrace the sexy and feminine aspects of their personality, wearing nail polish and makeup and experimenting with gender-fluid fashion choices like dresses or boy shorts. Moreover, they celebrate being an outsider and embrace a more accepting, progressive view of masculinity, challenging traditional ideas like what it means to be a man and what it is to be attractive.

E-Boys’ Relationships

E-Boys, or e-boys or e-girls, are a new generation of alternative subculture. Though they are sometimes dismissed with the same disdain as 2010s emo kids and 2007 Myspacers, they are helping us understand Gen Z male psychology and dismantle toxic masculinity.

Unlike their emo predecessors, today’s teen boys are more likely to be found perched in front of their computer screens, fine-tuning their TikTok videos. They are a hairstyle and a bin-full of jewelry away from becoming normie nine-to-fivers.

It is complicated to see how the boys’ culture can influence them outside their digital world. Their relationships are primarily with friends online and with their social media idols. They often speak about their crushes and highly tolerate emotional manipulation, which may explain why they are prone to bullying and sexual exploitation.

Although the relative importance of nature and nurture to a child’s development is debated, it is clear that children acquire stereotypes about men, women, and their relationships with each other as they develop. These stereotypes shape their expectations for future relationships and affect their interactions with others. In this way, it is essential to recognize and challenge the harmful messages that children receive about gender, violence, and other societal issues to prevent them from embracing them as normal.