Mogging and looksmaxxing: what they mean for parents

By Lewis C. Based on Internet Matters' guidance for parents, checked 1 October 2026.

Quick answer

Mogging means looking better than someone else. Looksmaxxing means trying to maximise your looks, from skincare and the gym to steroids and hitting your own face with a hammer. Both words come from incel forums and went mainstream on TikTok and YouTube. Hearing the word isn't a crisis. A feed full of it, changes in eating, or misogynistic language are worth a calm conversation.

Where it comes from

Looksmaxxing started on incel message boards, where looks are treated as the thing that decides a man's worth. It has since gone mainstream, but it still carries that vocabulary. Internet Matters notes that the best-known looksmaxxing creator, Clavicular, has made content with Andrew Tate.

Algorithms do the rest. Extreme looksmaxxing videos get lots of reactions, from outrage to people sharing them as a joke, so platforms show them to more people. A child who watches out of curiosity can end up being shown more manosphere content.

The words, decoded

Looksmaxxing
Trying to make yourself as good-looking as possible. 'Softmaxxing' is skincare, grooming and exercise. 'Hardmaxxing' is steroids and cosmetic surgery.
Mogging
Looking better than someone else. It gets stuck on other words: taller than you means 'heightmogging' you.
Mewing
Pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to sharpen your jaw. Unproven.
Bonesmashing
Hitting your own face with a hammer to reshape it. Pseudoscience that can cause permanent damage.
Starvemaxxing
Extreme dieting and fasting to get lean fast.
Chad
An attractive, confident man, the 'ideal' in these communities.
Foid
A misogynistic word for a woman, short for 'female humanoid'.

Why it matters

  • Self-esteem. It trains kids to keep scanning their faces and bodies for flaws. Men's mental health psychologist Zac Seidler told ABC News that the goalposts keep moving and there's no endpoint.
  • Physical harm. Steroids, crash diets and bonesmashing.
  • Where it leads. Misogynistic language and, for some kids, more extreme views.

Signs to look for

Internet Matters lists these:

  • The vocabulary above, especially words like "foid".
  • More time at the mirror, changes in eating or exercise, talking more about their features.
  • A feed dominated by looksmaxxing, beauty or fitness creators.
  • Hiding their screen or going quiet about what they watch.
  • Seeming more anxious or low after long spells online.

How to talk about it

  • Keep it casual. In the car or at tea, ask what they're watching. Curious beats interrogation.
  • Ask who made it and why. "Why do you think he posted that?" gets them thinking about money and clicks.
  • Point out the edits. Go through a creator's feed together and talk about filters and angles.
  • Praise other things. Kindness, effort, being funny. Leave looks out of it.
  • Use the tools. TikTok and Instagram both have supervision tools for teens, and some let you filter keywords.

When to get help

If you're worried about eating, exercise or how your child sees their body, talk to your GP. Beat, the eating disorder charity, runs free helplines from 3pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday:

The rest of what kids are saying is in our slang dictionary. Most of it is harmless.

Questions parents ask

What does mogging mean?

Mogging means looking more attractive than someone else, usually a boy outshining another boy on height, jawline or build. It comes from looksmaxxing forums, where people rank each other by looks.

What is looksmaxxing?

Trying to maximise your looks, from skincare and the gym ('softmaxxing') to steroids, crash diets and surgery ('hardmaxxing'). It started on incel forums and spread through TikTok and YouTube.

Is looksmaxxing dangerous?

The extreme end is. Internet Matters highlights steroid use, crash dieting and 'bonesmashing', where people hit their own faces with hammers. It can also damage self-esteem and feed body dysmorphia, and the content can lead on to misogynistic manosphere material.

My son says 'mogged'. Should I worry?

One word on its own, probably not. Kids repeat what they hear. Look at the bigger picture: whether his feed is full of looksmaxxing creators, whether he's changing how he eats or exercises, spending ages at the mirror, or using words like 'foid'.

Where this comes from