一直以來，我們通常會以年代來區分不同特點的人群，比如：70後、80後、嬰兒潮一代等等。不過，隨著資訊的不斷豐富，人群的分類不再那麼局限，人們的經濟狀況、生活方式甚至個人愛好都有可能成為分類的標準。在不同的分類標準下，每個人所屬的類別也有所不同，這就構成了一個人的多維度特徵。
4D Man is a male between 15 and 40 who is confident, individual and has varied interests and passions. 4D man is not as tribal as his predecessors, the metrosexual and the lad, where you either were one or you weren’t. He is also increasingly interested in culture and is more health-conscious.
4D男人指年齡在15到40歲之間，自信、有個性、興趣廣泛又熱情的男子。他們不像之前年代的都市美男和年輕派那樣有強烈的群體性：不是這一類就是那一類；他們對文化的興趣更加濃厚，也更加注重健康。
Observable behaviour surely makes it easy to accept that today's masculinity is a blur of contradictions. The "4D man" report pointed to an individual interpretation of man – masculinity with a million dimensions, if you will – rather than a rigid conformity to one simplistic typology or another in terms of outlook, orientation or choice of car, coffee or coat. Men – as women have probably always known – can be really weird these days.
從日常可見的行為方式不難看出如今的男性特徵極具矛盾性。4D男人的出現帶來了對男人與眾不同的一種詮釋——多維度的男性特徵，如果你願意，你不必將自己歸入某個單一類型的固有框架中，也不用通過外表、傾向性或對車、咖啡或者外套的選擇來定位自己。現在的男人，其實跟女人一樣，也可以詭異多變的。