So-called ‘manfluencers’ are filming themselves trying to pick up women. Smart glasses are their perfect tool
One woman told CNN she believed she was having a genuine interaction with a stranger.
(CNN) — Toluwa was waiting for her flight in an airport lounge in Washington, DC, when she said she was approached by a stranger.
The pair got chatting and, after a while, she agreed to exchange numbers with him. It wasn’t until she got home and searched his social media that she discovered he had posted numerous videos of himself trying to pick up women in airports.
These videos were taken using a built-in camera on his glasses – smart glasses, which look like regular eyewear and, while still relatively niche, are growing in popularity.
“I creeped, I found his TikTok. I found out that he does these ‘rizz’ videos,” Toluwa said, using a popular slang term derived from “charisma” for social media videos showing men approaching women in public and chatting them up. Toluwa wished to be identified by her first name only for privacy reasons.
While in contact over text, Toluwa said the man sent her the footage he had filmed of her without her knowledge, saying he wanted to “run it past” her before he shared it online.
She said he tried to persuade her to consent to him doing so; however, despite her not explicitly agreeing to, he uploaded it on social media. “It blows up and to the point where people are sending me this video, someone came up to me in Union Market, which is a large space in DC, and shoved it in my face and was like, is this you?”
Social media is awash with videos of men filming themselves approaching women in public spaces and attempting to flirt with them or ask for their numbers. In many cases, the videos are filmed and uploaded to platforms like TikTok and Instagram without the permission or knowledge of the person being filmed.
These videos, often filmed from the point of view of the man approaching a potential subject, rack up thousands and, in some case, millions of views. Once posted, they can attract misogynistic comments.
While the concept of the pick-up artist is nothing new, experts are sounding the alarm over the rise of so-called “manfluencers” who are covertly filming women to create misogynistic content online.
‘Controlling women’s images’
The term “manfluencer” describes a broad group of social media figures who create content geared toward men. While some post harmless content such as gym routines and self-improvement advice, other accounts are more sinister.
In this online sphere, women are often positioned “as a conquest, prize or reward,” Stephanie Wescott, a feminist academic, writer and speaker, and a lecturer in Education, Culture and Society at Australia’s Monash University, told CNN.
Smart glasses can play into the hands of these content creators as they offer a clear message about power, she warned. Namely, that men can “be watching, recording and therefore controlling women’s images in public spaces without their knowledge and therefore, that the public spaces belong to men.”
For Wescott, the phenomenon represents another example of the gendered abuse of technology – and a danger for women that is difficult to anticipate. “The danger is the loss of bodily autonomy without even being aware that it is happening,” she said.
Another woman – a DJ and producer who wished to be identified by her social media username “Manic Muse” – told CNN she believed she was having a genuine interaction with a stranger when she was approached by a man wearing glasses in a grocery store in Texas, US, who called her “beautiful.”
“He gave off a good vibe, so I gave (him my number), and then he immediately texted me after getting home, asking to see me the next day,” she said.
“At the end of our interaction at the store, he asked if he could pop my back, which is obviously a weird thing, but if you know me at all, I have a bad back.”
However, after telling her sister about the interaction she started to suspect that he might have been wearing a pair of Meta AI smart glasses, which are becoming increasingly popular, with market research suggesting they are the leading smart glasses brand by far. “And in that moment, my heart fell to my stomach.”
She said that when she messaged the man asking if he had been recording her, he stopped replying to her.
After tracking down his social media accounts, she discovered he frequently uploaded videos of himself approaching women and posted them to his thousands of followers.
“So I message him and say, please do not post me online. I don’t hear anything back, absolute crickets. And then the next morning I wake up, I check his account and I am posted against my consent, obviously being secretly recorded.
“And that video has now reached almost 20 million views.” At the time of publishing, this had climbed to more than 23 million views.
“It’s just so violating. I didn’t consent to being secretly recorded and I definitely didn’t consent to becoming content for millions of strangers,” she said.
‘You need consent’
While smart glasses do feature a blinking light on the side to indicate recording, this can be covered by an LED light blocking sticker. These are widely purchasable online.
In response to a request for comment by CNN, Meta said: “Our glasses have an LED light that activates whenever someone captures content, so it’s clear to others that the device is recording and features tamper detection technology to prevent people from covering that light.
“As with any recording device, including phones, people should use smart glasses in a safe, respectful manner.”
The statement continued, “We are aware that there are small numbers of users who choose to misuse our products, despite the measures we have put in place.”
Meta said its terms of service clearly state its smart glasses should not be used to engage in harmful activities like “harassment, infringing privacy rights, or capturing sensitive information.”
None of the women CNN spoke with said they saw a flashing light on the glasses during their interactions.
Anne-Marie, an events organizer from the UK who asked to be identified by her first name only, said she was filmed without her consent by a man using smart glasses while on holiday in Malta, who uploaded the videos to social media. Speaking to CNN, she said she was told by police in Malta and the UK that there was nothing they could do about it, though after she reported the video to Instagram and TikTok, both platforms eventually took it down. These platforms will remove videos that allegedly violate privacy, for example if they show someone who did not give their consent.
Anne-Marie spoke out against some male influencers earning money from their posts. “It’s a quick money thing… If you get a certain amount of views, you can monetize off it, but you shouldn’t be monetizing off potentially exposing people. You need consent,” she told CNN.
‘A new threat’
Wescott believes that like most content creators, “manfluencers” are seeking to profit from their work. “Usually, their content works as a funnel to generate leads to various business ventures, including coaching, retreats, supplements or other products,” she said.
Laws in some countries, including the UK and America, generally allow the filming of people in public spaces without their consent, although exceptions including harassment apply.
In the UK, if the footage filmed in a public space is uploaded online, data protection law and privacy law could come into play, particularly if the video is used for commercial gain.
Feminist campaigners say this new phenomenon represents a violation of privacy and is leveraged to publicly shame women. The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), a group of experts and feminist organizations across the UK, is calling on the government to ensure legislation is being adapted to respond to such emerging threats.
“The very act of being filmed without your consent for a nefarious purpose is a violation of women’s rights to privacy and to exist freely in public space,” Rebecca Hitchen, head of policy and campaigns at EVAW, told CNN.
“Smart glasses are therefore not an exciting innovation – for women, they present a new threat to our everyday lives.”
The-CNN-Wire
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