Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Anecdotally, I've noticed young men seem more insecure about taking their shirts off in public How do you know it's due to insecurity and not growing awareness of the dangers of ultraviolet radiation?
Are we more aware of the risks of UV than 20 years ago? Maybe it's because I have a skin type that burns in 10 minutes but I was about as concerned about that then as now.
And then my grandfather died from skin cancer. You bet that as an adult, I am not exposing much of my skin to sun at all when I am out on a sunny day, and I apply sunscreen to my face daily. I have no issues with being shirtless otherwise, and do it quite often, mostly at the gym.
Disclaimer: my gym is a small local one, not a massive chain, and being shirtless there is both explicitly allowed and is very common. At any given point, about a quarter of the people there will be shirtless.