Lately, I’ve had a stack of correspondence from young men. When I say young, I mean pre- and early-teen. It makes my day every time. Not least because I know what it takes for a boy to approach an old battleaxe like me. I’d be petrified!
There’s been Jacob Towers who travelled with his Mum to meet me in London a few months back. He made me a bookmark. There’s been Ryan, or “Worm”, 9, who made me a green loom band “to go with your green shorts”.
I recently worked out 12 per cent of my Facebook audience are young men aged 13-34. And in the 13-17-year-old bracket, there are double the number of boys to girls following. And that’s Facebook. Which doesn’t strike me as the most popular hang for boys. Or am I wrong?
Jack is 11. @Jackal_15 on Instagram. I wrote back to him and asked him to email me. Jack then kindly shared pics of his sugar-free family. The kid’s a legend. What a rippa big brother. A stand-out son.
I have a soft spot for young men. A line I hope is never pulled out of context.
I’ve witnessed how the current generation has shifted massively from the kinds of boys that were my peers as a kid.
They are confidently sensitive, seemingly happier in their “boy” skin and better communicators (albeit while still grunting).
