What's wrong with gay men online?

The gay bio is reduced to a thirst trap. @Robert05894482 was the only guardrail.

One of the many tragedies of modern day Twitter is that Elon Musk’s campaign to resuscitate previously banned accounts included an assembly of provocative voices like Jordan Peterson, The Babylon Bee, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump — but *not* @Robert05894482 — a Midwest retiree who spoke menacingly hard truths to a cohort that has lost its wits, grace and any semblance of self-control in our Always Online Era.

The cohort I speak of is gay men, of course. And @Robert05894482 was the only lonely check on their unfettered media power.

Unless you have a Very Gay Timeline — as I, a gay man, do — you might not see it. But these days, when I open my X account, it is increasingly littered with gay men in their 20s, 30s and 40s (!) — at the pinnacle of their lifespans and evidently, at their peak physical conditions — reducing themselves to mere sexual objects, flouting their tight abs, succulent rear ends and idyllic genitals. Always shirtless and unafraid. Yes, I realize how algorithms work and that I’m fed more of what I click on, 👁️, but what first became a casual gawking exercise while blithely scrolling morphed into a genuine fascination with what homosexual men will post online for *ALL* to see — not just their fans, gym crushes and club buddies — but their sisters, cousins, co-workers, friends, employers, etc.

This is not a moral harangue. Please don’t confuse me for being prude, excessively private or overly inhibited. I fully understand the importance of feeling oneself through the power of a perfectly lit mirror selfie after a sweat-induced workout or ahead of a well-tailored night out. The way we signal status and sex appeal now is how we curate our lives through 5-by-2.5 inch screens and onto feeds for friends and foes alike. But what’s going on with thousands of gay men online looks like a genuine