Scott Galloway’s Latest Book Challenges What It Means to Be a Man Today

When NYU business professor and author Scott Galloway appeared on CNN recently to discuss his new book, “Notes on Being a Man” (Simon & Schuster, November 2025), he didn’t mince words. “Young men are in crisis,” he told Anderson Cooper, citing a generation struggling with purpose, loneliness, and disconnection. The data backs him up: young men are dropping out of college at higher rates than women, forming fewer friendships, and reporting record levels of isolation. They’re falling behind academically, emotionally, and socially in ways that suggest something deeper than just teenage angst.

It’s a conversation that’s quickly gone viral, not because it’s shocking, but because it feels familiar. Parents, teachers, and even teens themselves recognize the signs: boys who seem adrift, unsure where they fit in a world that keeps rewriting the rules of masculinity.

As Galloway points to glaring stats on boys’ sense of aimlessness, he argues that the rules for masculinity haven’t caught up with the realities of modern life. For today’s men, emotion, expression, and flexibility are still treated as optional, which could be the problem.

Galloway’s new book explores what it means to be a man today, and its significance for  siblings, daughters, partners, and even parents, not just sons. He writes that men are “in crisis” because the structures that once helped them shape identity (jobs, clear roles, physical rites of passage) are gone or shifting.

Some key takeaways for boys from the book include:

Galloway frames these not as “classic man-things,” but as fundamentals of emotional strength and healthy identity. 

This Isn’t the First Time We’ve Talked About This

At SheKnows, this conversation isn’t new. Earlier this year, our “Be a Man” digital issue dug into the exact same tension Galloway is writing about: what it really means to raise boys in a world that’s finally questioning outdated definitions of masculinity.

In that series, parents, educators, and experts all echoed the same refrain: boys are craving connection, permission to feel, and a roadmap for expressing vulnerability without shame. They don’t need to be “fixed.” They need to be seen.

Galloway’s ‘Notes on Being a Man’ feels like the next chapter in that same story… One that invites parents to look closer at how we talk to our sons (and daughters) about strength, identity, and belonging. Whether it’s the viral clip of Galloway saying “young men are in crisis,” or our own reporting on the “Be a Man” issue, the message is the same: raising emotionally healthy kids means redefining what power and purpose look like for everyone.

Why This Doesn’t Just Matter to Boys

At the crux of it all: The culture that defines success for boys also influences how we raise and treat girls. And, when a large swath of the population (young men) is hurting, society ripples across the board, from workplaces to families, from partnerships to community. The idea simply is that we rise together.

Galloway may be talking about young men in his book today, but the message resonates for every parent reading this. Because raising empowered, resilient kids means teaching them they all matter. Not just when they fit the mold, but especially when they don’t.