I am fortunate to have three siblings with children of their own. During my teens, twenties and early thirties I've watched as my six nieces and nephews have go

I am fortunate to have three siblings with children of their own. During my teens, twenties and early thirties I've watched as my six nieces and nephews have gone from preschool, gradeschool and now, for some of them, into university. It's been a marvelous experience. The most striking observation comes from the development of my nephews. Our view of masculinity is decidedly stoic, strong, independent and emotionally stable-- there is nothing in my mind to say men can't be _different_, just that Western culture has selected that male paragon for so long, it may take another hundred years for a masculinism movement to make any changes to this norm. Anyways, my anecdotal experience watching my nephews grow up points toward a few clear heuristics: boys grow into good men when they are surrounded by nurturing parents; plenty of exercise, ideally in the backcountry; the opportunity to make (and then correct) mistakes in an environment that doesn't prematurely shame; a social environment comprised of good men and women from all ages and to whom they can relate; strong family connections, especially around dinner time; and most of all, parents who encourage them to get outside, get lost, get in trouble, all without a cellphone, social media or an escape hatch. On the topic of social media, if it's been proven bad for teenage girls, it shouldn't be a surprise that social media must be equally polarizing, alienating and ultimately extremely poisonous for our young men as well.