Scrolling a typical adolescent boy’s social feed can reveal games and sports — and increasingly, looksmaxxing, a viral movement urging radical changes to one’s face and body. While many teens experiment with fitness, looksmaxxing often pushes young men toward extreme and dangerous measures, including steroids, illicit drugs, elective surgeries and harmful DIY practices.
What is looksmaxxing
Looksmaxxing promotes optimizing one’s appearance above nearly everything else. It grew out of incel subcultures that equate worth and success with a narrowly defined, often white, European standard of attractiveness. Adherents rank people from “subhuman” to “Chad” — the idealized tall, angular-jawed, white alpha male — and treat physical change as the main route to happiness and sexual or professional success.
Dangerous practices and influencers
Online content spans benign tips like workouts and skincare to hazardous trends such as “bonesmashing” — intentionally injuring the jaw to try to sharpen its shape — and encouragement to use steroids or other drugs. Some well-known influencers glamorize such extremes. A recent example is streamer Braden Peters (known as Clavicular), who promoted risky practices and was hospitalized after passing out during a livestream.
Health and social harms
Clinicians report rising rates of eating disorders, body dysmorphia and requests for cosmetic procedures among male adolescents. Jaw surgery in particular has become popular within these communities. Experts warn that the mental health consequences can be as serious as the physical ones. Looksmaxxing’s emphasis on appearance as the primary measure of value can also carry explicit ties to racist and eugenic ideas about genetics and worth.
Signs parents should watch for
– Frequent complaints about not looking good enough or constant comparisons to others.
– Sudden changes in eating habits or exercise routines that feel extreme.
– Interest in or requests for cosmetic surgery.
– Secretive behavior around medication, supplements or substance use.
– Obsessive focus on particular body parts (jawline, nose, height).
– Sudden shifts in peer groups or immersion in online forums promoting extreme measures.
How to talk with boys about looksmaxxing
Start early and be curious: Begin age-appropriate conversations about appearance and self-worth in preschool and continue them as normal parts of family life. The earlier open dialogue is established, the easier it is to intervene later.
Be nonjudgmental and validating: Ask questions from genuine curiosity — “Why did you pick that avatar? What do you like about that routine?” — and listen without immediate criticism. Validating feelings helps build a trusting relationship where teens feel safe sharing concerns.
Use interests as entry points: Talk about the media, games or fitness content they follow. Ask about gym routines, skincare, or the people they look up to online. These softer openings make it easier to address more serious topics over time.
Watch for vulnerability in adolescence: Boys are often socialized not to share struggles. Parents may need to work harder to “break down the walls,” gently and consistently inviting conversation and showing emotional availability.
Encourage diverse identities and skills: Help teens develop interests beyond appearance — coding, creative projects, sports, arts or building websites. Creating “third spaces” where they make and shape what they consume can reduce passive intake of harmful content and provide lifelong benefits.
Practical steps for intervention
– Engage early and often in open, curiosity-driven conversations.
– Monitor for signs of extreme behavior and seek professional help if you suspect eating disorders, body dysmorphia, substance use or self-harm.
– Set boundaries around risky behaviors and discuss the real risks of steroids, unregulated supplements and elective procedures.
– Encourage balanced routines that include mental health supports, healthy exercise, nutrition and sleep.
– If a teen expresses interest in cosmetic surgery, consult a mental health professional and a qualified medical specialist before any decisions are made.
When to seek help
If a teen shows severe body image distress, disordered eating, self-injury, drug use, or asks for drastic surgical changes, reach out to pediatricians, child psychiatrists or therapists experienced with adolescent body image and online harms. Early intervention reduces both physical and mental health risks.
Final note
Looksmaxxing packages a dangerous mix of body obsession, risky practices and harmful ideologies. Parents and caregivers can counteract its influence by staying engaged, asking questions with empathy, validating feelings, and helping boys build identities and skills that aren’t tied solely to appearance.