State of Man 2012

Like women, men are a mystery. But we are a mystery that can be solved. We have simple, direct needs. We express those needs in simple, direct ways. And yet, according to the self-proclaimed experts, all is not well in Testosterone Town. Some 40 years ago, the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. asked, "What has happened to the American male? Men are more and more conscious of maleness not as a fact but a problem." In her 1999 book, Stiffed, Susan Faludi documented what she said was a sense of loss among men for the days when they had a role in public life, a way to earn a decent living and appreciation at home. In fact, men have been adjust­ing to these and other challenges for centuries. It has been two decades since playboy last polled American males, so we asked Harris Interactive to survey 1,000 men online and weight the results to reflect the demo­graphics of the larger population. We hoped to find out who you are, what you do and how you see

life. How do you measure up?

IT'S BEEN 20 YEARS SINCE WE LAST SURVEYED MEN ABOUT THEIR LIVES.TIMETO CATCH UP WITH THE AMERICAN MALE

Whatever their income, men typically have a complicated relationship with money. They feel pressure to provide, which causes them to equate money with security. Unfortunately, living below your means isn't an American trait.The past six years have not been easy: The wealth of middle-class households has fallen to levels last seen in the early 1990s (mostly due to the drop in home values), and many men have faced the stress of los­ing a job. We asked men to tell us about their finances and how those numbers add up in terms of personal identity. Does money buy happiness? Or delay it?

Do you trust the American financial system?

33% YES

39°/o

Percentage of Republican males who say they trust the system: SSO; of Democrats: 25O; of independents: MS; of Libertarians: 34; of Tea Party supporters: 33.

Percentage of men who are stay-at-home dads:

Who own their home

Percentage of men who say they never take a week off for vacation:

In 1979:

Who take two weeks or more:

Percentage of men age 25 to 34 who say they work at least 60 hours a week:

35 to 44: 45 to 54: O

Who say they have no extra money for eating out, travel or hobbies:

Who take one week a year:

In 1979:

37

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Who have defaulted on a debt, filed for bankruptcy or had a lien against them:

Percentage who say they work at least 50 hours a week:

Who have been

unemployed in the past fo years:

$200K OR MORE

$150KT0$200K

$100KT0$150K

$75KT0$100K

$50KT0$75K

$25KT0$50K

LESS THAN $25K

O BETTER: O THE SAME: 36% O WORSE: 3§% O NOT SURE:

We asked, "At this point in your life, do you feel you are doing better, about the same or worse than you would have expected?"

Percentage among men age 25 to 34: BETTER: SO

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WORSE: SO

Percentage among men age 35 to 44:

BETTER: 14= THE SAME: SS€» WORSE: 34

Percentage of Republican males who feel they're doing better than expected: ¦ S»; of Democrats: S*0;ofTea Party supporters: S.

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We asked men to imagine they had won $50,000 in a contest. What would they do with the money?

Percentage of men who say

they are obsessed

with:

1 J

Asking men what they would rather be doing than work doesn't require a multiple-choice response. "Anything" covers it. We love our work, but we save our devotion for our mistress, leisure.The challenge for the modern man is carving out time to hit all his interests.

Percentage of married men who do chores some or all of the time:

Percentage of men who say they never watch television:

Percentage who say they never play video games:

Who spend at least an hour a day playing:

Who never go online: 4

Who spend at least four hours a day online: !¦>¦

Who watch at least four hours a day:

19

Percentage of men who say they never speak on the phone:

Who say they talk on the phone about an hour a day or more:

Percentage of men who say marijuana should be legalized:

56

31

In 1979:

Percentage of men who say they're careful about what they

33

Who say they eat whatever:

Percentage who say they never read:

Who read for more than about an hour a day:

percent of men spent more than

on their current car.

S3

percent chose it primarily for reliability,

percent for gas mileage and

percent for performance.

Percent­age of men age 25 to 34 who have used pre­scription drugs to get high in the past six months:

16

percent of men say personal style is an important part of their lives.

st

percent say it's not that important.

Cocaine:© Ecstasy:® Crystal meth:<

Percentage of males age 18 to 34 who say they smoke weed every day:

Of males 65 and older:

-^ yM

Percentage of men who are fans of each genre of music:

V 13 34 34 37 37 38 49

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PUNK HEAVY HIP- ALT CLASSICAL COUNTRY POP CLASSIC METAL HOP ROCK ROCK

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Average time spent daily by men:

WATCHING TV

SURFINGTHE INTERNET

READING

WATCHING MOVIES

PLAYING

VIDEO

GAMES

TALKING ON THE PHONE

TEXTING

We were concerned, when comparing a survey we conducted in 1992 with cur­rent numbers, to find a noticeable drop in men who said they were "very satisfied" with their sex lives. And yet nearly half are getting laid at least once a week, a figure that could be more robust but is no reason to complain (especially to the men on a monthly or annual schedule). At the same time, the percentage of men who consider themselves "fairly satisfied" has jumped, which could just mean they have fantasies left to fulfill. Who can't say that?

S3%

of all men claim they've had sex with a person within 24 hours of being introduced.

About lino men claim to have had a threesome.

percent of men have slept with a co-worker;

percent with a person of a different race;

SO

percent with a neighbor;

percent with their boss.

percent of men have suspected a partner of cheating;

3O

percent could forgive a part­ner they caught cheating.

Percentage of men who say they masturbate at least daily:.

At least once a week:

At least once a month:

Percentage who claim they have never masturbated: 3

Percentage of men who lost their virginity before the age of 18:

Before the age of 23:

Before the age of 26:

94:

Percentage of men who say they have sex every day: 4L

46

63

At least once a week:

At least once a month:

men lost their virginity during a one-night stand.

Percentage of men who say they've cheated:

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men claim they've had more than 50 partners.

We asked men in long-term relationships, "How happy are you with your sex life?"

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Nothing has changed life more for men in the past 20 years than technology. Our cars, phones, televisions, tools, even the lawn mower and the lights in our homes are digital. We meet partners on the com­puter or, failing that, store our porn there. We can be reached anywhere, at any time, for any reason. We are more connected and more isolated, walking, talking, eat­ing and driving with our heads down so as not to miss the e-mail, text or tweet of the moment. And yet men forget that though we are being led on a straight and narrow path by a series of pings and beeps, the best-lived life has unexpected detours. Refusing to ask for directions was one of the great character-building qualities of our fathers and grandfathers. We don't get lost enough.

Percentage of men who: Use social-media sites

OFTEN: -41; RARELY OR NEVER: 39

Stream music or TV

OFTEN: S3; RARELY OR NEVER: SV8>

Stream movies

OFTEN: S3; RARELY OR NEVER: 38

Shop online

OFTEN: 33; RARELY OR NEVER: 33

Use an online dating service

OFTEN: 4r; RARELY OR NEVER: SO

Percentage of men who spend more than 30 hours a week on the internet: ¦3; of Republicans: S; of Democrats: B4; of Libertarians: SO; of Tea Party supporters:

sso.

Number of hours a day the average guy spends surfing the internet: SSsOSS. Number of hours a day a single male spends surfing: £5x254. Number of hours a day a married man spends surfing:

About 1/3 of men who have used an online dating site have done so while already in a relationship.

percent of men get most of their news online.

percent get most of their news from social-networking sites.

16

percent have been a victim of a cybercrime.

percent have

paid bills online.

91

percent of men have tried to contact an ex online.

Percentage of men who say they have secretly read a partner's social-network messages or e-mail: 1J.; of women:

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Percentage of men who have slept with someone they met online AGE 18TO 24: SO AGE 25TO 34: 39 AGE 35TO 44: 3S AGE 45 TO 54: S5» AGE 55TO 64: »S» AGE 65 AND OVER: S

Percentage of men who spend less than four hours a week online: 19

1O percent of men spend more than 30 hours a week online.

As with sex, "fairly satisfied" seems to describe the average man's view of life. Less than 40% of men believe anyone in the U.S. will be blown up by a nuclear device before 2022. Nearly 40% attend religious ser­vices more frequently than the oil should be changed in a car. More than 60% are hopeful or unconcerned about the future. More men today say they are satisfied with their education, though in other areas we claim to be less satisfied—or as the optimists would say, more demanding.

Percentage of men extremely or very satisfied with:

rm

of men say

they would vote for a female presidential candidate <m 74% for a Hispanic

€p 73% for an Asian w 33% for a gay man or lesbian 9 Wtt**» for a physically disabled person

Percentage of men who say they're not religious: 33; who say they're very religious: 19.

How often do you attend services?

ONCE A YEAR OR LESS: ONCE ORTWICE A MONTH: ONCEAWEEK: MS MORETHAN ONCE AWEEK:

ITH

percent of men believe a nuclear device will be detonated in the U.S. sometime in the next MO years.

Percentage of men who

believe the U.i>. is headed in the right direction:

Of Republicans: Of Democrats:

Percentage of men who say most politicians are trustworthy: flUfe

percent of men are very hopeful about the future, percent are very pessimistic.

WHO ISTHE AVERAGE AMERICAN MALE? WE CULLED STATISTICS FROM AVARIETY OF RELIABLE SOURCESTO PROVIDE A SNAPSHOT

Joe is 37 years old and earns $48,387 at his full-time job. (That's the median; half of all men make more and half less.) He married for the first time at the age of 29. He stands five-nine and weighs 180 pounds. If you're shopping for him, he has a 16-inch collar, a 38-inch waist, and he wears a size 10.5 shoe. If you're sleeping with him, his erection is 6.21 inches long and 4.85 inches around. He probably has a high school diploma (85%)

and perhaps a bache­lor's degree (28%). He's most likely employed in management, business, science or the arts but may be in service (15%), sales or administration (18%), construction or

maintenance (17%) or produc­tion and transportation (18%). At the age of 50 he will have $44,000 in savings—far from enough. If he's in reasonably good shape at 50, he should be able to run a nine-minute mile. For a guy his age and weight, Joe should manage 24 push-ups and a single bench press of about 240 pounds. He's most likely married (51%) and living with his spouse (73% of households) but may be divorced (9.6%) and a single

father (7%). If all goes well, he'll live to see his 75th birthday. If all goes very well, he has about a 15% chance of living to 100-and after the age of 95, there are four women for every man.

What is the greatest threat to humankind?

FOR COMPLETE RESULTS AND METHODOLOGY, E-MAIL [email protected].