Keir Starmer has rejected calls for the government to appoint a minister for men.
The idea has resurfaced in recent days following the success of Netflix drama Adolescence, about a teenage boy arrested for killing a female classmate.
Former England manager Gareth Southgate also waded into the debate by saying young men need more positive role models in their lives, rather than spending their time online.
On Radio 5Live this morning, the prime minister – who has a teenage son – admitted he was worried about the challenges facing young men.
Presenter Rick Edwards asked him: “I’m sure you will have seen Gareth Southgate talking about how young men need more support to try and navigate identity and culture and resilience.
“A lot of people are talking about the Netflix show Adolescence, that I know that you’ve seen. Are we sleepwalking into a crisis for masculinity here? How do you feel – not necessarily as the prime minister but as a dad?
Starmer: “I am worried about this. I’ve got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. We are watching Adolescence with them.
“I’ve been in touch with Gareth, I thought his lecture was really powerful and will have resonated with a lot of parents, and I do think this is something that we have to take seriously, we have to address. We can’t shrug our shoulders at it.
“There’s a reason why the debate has suddenly sparked into life on this and that’s because a lot of parents and people who work with young people at school and elsewhere recognise we may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address. I personally take it very seriously.”
Edwards then asked the PM: “Is it time for a minister for men?”
But Starmer said: “No I don’t think that’s the answer. I think it’s time to listen to what Gareth Southgate was saying and responding to it, and certainly that’s what I want to do.
“I’ve been in touch with Gareth Southgate, I want to have that discussion with him. But I do think that it’s important that we pick this challenge up and see it for what it is.”