85% of Australian U16 teens still using social media after ban research finds.
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/news/2026/06/australias-social-media-age-restrictions-show-limited-early-impact-new-research-finds
“Published today in the British Medical Journal, the University of Newcastle study found age assurance measures were not consistently experienced, with many young people reporting continued access to platforms using their own accounts, as well as alternative or shared accounts.
The results are an early snapshot, with platform practices and compliance approaches likely to evolve as implementation progresses.
The study followed 408 adolescents aged 12 to 17 before and three months after the introduction of the Social Media Minimum Age Act 2024, which requires identified platforms including Tiktok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, to take reasonable steps to prevent users under 16 from holding accounts.
Researchers found that more than 85 per cent of adolescents under 16 continued to use restricted social media platforms at follow-up, with around two-thirds reporting exposure to age verification processes.”
Airline responds after influencer says she was stopped from boarding for looking “naked”
https://www.dexerto.com/tiktok/airline-responds-after-influencer-says-she-was-stopped-from-boarding-for-looking-naked-3380893/
“Influencer accuses Lufthansa of not letting her fly cause she looked “naked”
“Lufthansa, we need to talk,” she said in a video translated by Airlive. Pilz explained that as she was scanning her boarding pass, an agent refused to let her on the plane.
“You can’t board like that,” she recalled the agent saying. After asking for clarification, he reportedly added, “You’re not wearing anything. You’re naked.””
Gary Glitter charged with historical sexual offences
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lywez0zddo
“Gary Glitter, the former singer whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been charged with historical sexual offences dating back to 1978, the Metropolitan Police has said.
The charges relate to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13, and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14.
There is one alleged victim, with the offences said to have taken place between the years of 1978-1981 at a residential address in Kensington.
Gadd is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 5 August.
The allegations were first reported to the Met on 9 January 2025 and an investigation into the circumstances was launched.
Gadd was first interviewed on 22 July 2025 in relation to the investigation.
The alleged victim is currently being supported by specialist officers, and they have been made aware of this update.’
Straight from the horse’s mouth. In the past we have read examples from AF’s stories, or from other sources, how even up to the 90s the UK seemed to have been a totally different country compared to now. At least that is the impression I get as a person who gathered a lot of information about the UK (obviously this blog and its comments deserve many of the credits for it), but who also interacted with British people (predominantly younger men) in real life in the past.
Not to give the wrong impression, I had and still have no reason to doubt anything what especially AF has written about his experiences in the UK in the 80s and 90s, that alone was proof for me enough. Nonetheless, it obviously give a sense of “relief” (lack for a better word) that the other half (in this case British women) corrobates what has been written and stated here or somewhere else.
Take this example as a sample:
https://theantifeminist.com/antifeminist-news-june-2026/comment-page-1/#comment-647688
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Now for the female part. I found this thread on this forum:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5420432-is-it-ok-or-icky?page=1
Since “mum” is written with a u instead of an o, or that other British words have been used like “nan” or “shag,” I assume this website is focused on Brtish women and mothers.
Unfortunately, in some of the comment, and as expected, the average woman does not take the accountibility for her actions in the past, and subsequently it was “bad.” However, there some good ones too.
In general, these are very insightful comments for me, and I hope for you too.
TheatricalLife · 01/10/2025 22:14
I was at school in the 90s and loads of the girls were going out with much older men…me included unfortunately. None of us thought anything of it at the time -in fact we felt really mature. Two of my friends were going out with men in their 30s (!) at 15/16. It’s horrible looking back.”
Gloriousgardener11 · 01/10/2025 22:24
Well I think it was more common for this to happen years ago.
I remember some girls(15/16 year olds) being picked up by their boyfriends after school in very nice cars.
These boys were late teens early 20’s
We are all a lot more aware of grooming, coercion and paedophiles now!
PrizedPickledPopcorn · 01/10/2025 22:37
Normal to date older in the late 80s, but possibly not settling down so young.
Dazzlemered · 01/10/2025 22:39
When I was 16/17 I was shaggjng a 30 year old! Lots of my friends had much older boyfriends.
picnicfuntimes · 01/10/2025 22:48
I had a 34 year old “boyfriend” at 17. He was also my teacher (college not school if that makes any difference). We were together a couple of years and lived together. Looking back now – definitely icky.
FattyMcFattyArse · 02/10/2025 14:58
We aren’t still together. I don’t know why I’m looking back at it now, but I feel i have a different view on the past than I did at the time.
Maybe it’s the grooming gang in the news, or just different values nowadays than back in the 80s.
Some of my friends had much older boyfriends at the time, as some people have commented here as well. 30s dating teenagers is icky to me. I’m really not sure about 21, hence the post and wanting others’ opinions.
TheatricalLife · 02/10/2025 15:10
It wasn’t weird at all at the time. 21 was probably on the normalish end of the scale for boyfriends when we were 16. As I said earlier, nobody bat an eyelid at the 30 year olds so 21 was nothing.
I’m actually horrified at the older men when I look back. We all did look 16 at 16 in the late 90s, it wasn’t like now with all the clever makeup etc. We might have thought we looked mature, but no amount of Heather Shimmer lipstick and Natural Collection eye shadow made that much difference. The only reason we ever got into pubs and clubs was because nobody gave a shit about underage drinking.
pilates · 03/10/2025 06:46
Agree @CoffeeCantata
My first serious bf was 5 years older than me. Totally respectful loving relationship.
My parents have a 7yr age gap. Guess what, they are still together and have been happily married for over 60 years.
I was 17 and so was my mum.
Katemax82 · 03/10/2025 07:31
I was 17 in 1999 and my husband was 27
Most of my relationships back then were with guys at least 10 years older
Topcan · 03/10/2025 19:32
Wouldn’t have turned a hair in the late 90s, never mind the 80s. Would give people conniptions now.
bluebettyy · 13/10/2025 19:51
The worst thing about this thread isn’t age gap relationships, it’s the word icky
RaraRachael · 13/10/2025 20:03
My friend got married at 17 to a 29 year old man.
Far more girls got married in their teens which is pretty much unheard of nowadays, There were no single mums – it was common to hear of a wedding being “brought forward” because the bride was pregnant and it was very shameful to be an unmarried mother.
CalmTheFuckDownMargaret · 13/10/2025 22:26
Things have really changed. At 15/16, we were dating guys aged 18-21. At 18 my boyfriend was so much older I’m too embarrassed to write by how much. Men in vans used to beep at us in school uniform every single day – the culture was one where nobody seemed to view this as shocking. Now, that would all definitely raise eyebrows and be the subject of concerned gossip.
ninjahamster · 13/10/2025 22:27
It was much more common wasn’t it? I had a fling at 16 with a 27 year old fireman, lasted a few weeks.
Purplebunnie · 13/10/2025 22:31
I had a 21 year old boyfriend when I was 16. Like many PP’s have said he was the most respectful boyfriend I ever had.
Mucky1 · 13/10/2025 23:05
I was talking about this recently I was 18 when I started dating my 36 yo ex.
Now I’m sure it would cause a hollarballoo and he would get hounding but then mid 90s no one batted an eyelid except my mum.
I was a mature teen and by 18 was already very immersed in the adult world.
I was a single parent working full time and living my own independent life, all of my friends were older and it was just accepted.
We had a fairly happy relationship with it’s ups and downs for almost a decade and are still now very good friends.
I was definitely not being taken advantage of and I’d hate now for anyone to ever look back at us and think that.
it was a different time it was what it was
imogena · 13/10/2025 23:26
My Nan was 20 in 1945 when she married my 31 year old grandad. They’d met over 2 years earlier and been on just 2 dates before he was sent abroad to war!! Married (often unhappily unfortunately) for 58 years until his death).
Unusually I did often date younger lads in my teens and early 20s but I was quite immature myself.
RaraRachael · 14/10/2025 07:43
I’m out of touch with dating but is the current thinking that girls should only date a guy no more than a couple of years older than them?
When I was young the big taboo was that a girl should never go out with a younger boy.
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These are all very insightful comments, but just a quick remark to the last one:
“When I was young the big taboo was that a girl should never go out with a younger boy.”
Now, this seems to have been completely flipped. Now you are a nonce when the man is older.
@AF,
I don’t know if you remember, but I recall you asked about topic ideas last year for future blog posts. If I am not mistaken, I suggested that you could write something about the UK’s history and change. You did write a little bit about it in the comments, but I think having a dedicated blog post for it might not be a bad idea. Obviously, just a suggestion from my part and up to you.
I have to say that the UK out of all countries “fascinate” me the most, but it also shows how quickly the current Zeitgeist can change, and all of the sudden something completely normal or at least tolerated ends up as a modern witch hunt.
@AF and Wolfenkind,
Going back to the discussion of prison mentality or the British riots you have shown, I will quote myself here:
“Obviously AF is in a much better position to comment on this since he is British and grew up in the UK, but here is my take:
From all that I have seen, all the examples that have been shown, especially on this blog, it has to. Otherwise I couldn’t explain how even up to the 90s older men, whether commoners or male celebrities have been able to get with young women below the age of 18 in the UK.”
https://theantifeminist.com/antifeminist-news-july-2026/#comment-648038 (and the comments below.)
“The chairman of corporate giant SK Group has been ordered by a South Korean court to pay his ex-wife 944bn won (£483m; $644m) in a case that local media has called the “divorce of the century”.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg68jky65eo
Imagine being a male in South Korea today. No wonder the birth rate is so low.