A video that has been viewed more than 70 million times has sparked much curiosity about the mysterious toilet habits of men.
Influencer Hannah Stocking posted a funny video on Instagram in which she pokes fun at the time her male partner spends on the toilet.
The video, which has been liked more than a million times, shows her ‘preparing’ her bathroom for her male partner by setting out candles, video games and books before saying goodbye to him.
He emerges from the toilet a moment later with a beard and the couple enjoys a loving reunion.
Influencer Hannah Stocking has taken social media by storm with a comedic clip about men spending long periods of time on the toilet.
The influencer joked that her partner Answar spends “four days” on the toilet.
Dozens of viewers have commented on the video, sharing stories of their male partners’ equally long toilet visits.
“This is so true. Why do men spend 60% of their lives in the bathroom?” wrote one Instagram user.
Another said: ‘I’m watching this from the couch while my husband watches his NRL. [Australian National Rugby League] ‘highlights in the bathroom with the sound on full blast.’
Meanwhile, one woman said she’s made peace with her partner’s toilet visits “after 25 years.” “I just [get] give him a duvet and say goodnight, goodbye [sic]’.
Men have responded to the allegations and provided illuminating explanations for the behavior.
“The bathroom is a place of escape for men,” wrote one male commenter. “Where we can be alone for a while.” While another said, “It’s a way to soothe our memory because [sic] when you are with her she always wants all the attention…when we are inside no one bothers [us] until we figure it out.’
Now experts have spoken out about the discussion and confirmed Hannah Kous‘s suspicions.
“It’s true that men spend more time on the toilet than women,” Dr. Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist based in Massachusetts in the US, told Yahoo Life.
‘But in reality, women are much less likely to have intestinal complaints and chronic constipation than men.’
According to the charity The IBS Network, gut problems such as irritable bowel syndrome are one to three times more common in women than men.
This is thought to be due to a number of factors, including hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle that affect a woman’s bowel, and the fact that a woman’s colon is on average 10cm longer than a man’s.
Studies suggest that men’s increased toilet time may be due to other activities. A 2017 study from the University of Oxford and the University of Canberra found that men are six percent more likely to scroll through their phones on the toilet, The Huffington Post tells.
Research shows that women are three times more likely to have bowel problems than men, but men do spend more time on the toilet.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author, told LiveScience that the toilet is a “‘shelter’ and some ‘me time’, because ‘nobody ever asks what you’re doing there, even if you take a long time. It can really be a safe place’.
This aligns with the findings of a 2018 survey by bathroom manufacturer Pebble Grey, which found that a third of British men spend more than seven hours a year on the toilet to ‘enjoy some peace and quiet’ and ‘avoid stress’.
A 2021 study of 38 men aged 19 to 55 conducted by VICE Media provided even more interesting insights into the psyche of men who spend long periods of time on the toilet.
About 84 percent of men surveyed said they spend their time scrolling through social media, while 62 percent said they read the news.
Half of respondents said they use the time to answer emails and text messages.
A smaller percentage reported reading a book (14 percent) or making a phone call (8 percent).
Tellingly, 63 percent of men who responded to the survey said they purposely stayed on the toilet longer when feeling frustrated at work or home.
Psychotherapist Benjamin Jackson summed up the phenomenon this way to VICE: “I call it ‘cave time.’
“I always ask the men I work with where they get that time for themselves. If they’re sharing small apartments or large houses, that place can often be the bathroom.”