‘Adolescence’ is the latest hit TV series from Netflix, showing the story of a 13-year-old boy (Jamie Miller,) arrested on suspicion of murdering a girl from his school. The intense storyline and creative “one-take” episode filming style has captured the interest of millions. Its first episode was viewed by 6.45 million people in the week of its release, making it the biggest audience for any streaming TV show in the UK. It’s no wonder that ‘Adolescence‘ has been the talking point everywhere we turn, including posts on every social media platform.
The series hits home and hits hard with people who have watched it for a variety of reasons, reigniting conversations around the impact (both positive and negative) of social media, along with a nationwide conversation around masculinity. ‘Adolescence‘ isn’t afraid to portray toxic masculinity, gender wars, online bullying and a struggling education system.
As someone who works within the education sector, alongside schools and Local Authorities, as well as working with a church youth group in my spare time, the series was a must watch. It hit deep. It was an all too real reminder of what is out there on social media and how important good role models are in the ever-increasing rise of toxic masculinity. I spent some time with some young people this past week and we discussed the show. I was intrigued to know whether ‘Adolescence‘ had taken creative licence, exaggerating anything or making things seem worse. Not many of the young people had seen the series, however, they were aware of it and confirmed that the emojis and language used are correct and things they face in their schools.
What is enjoyable about this series is that there is no “whodunnit,” choosing to focus on the why, and highlighting issues facing our young people instead. The show portrays Jamie in a working-class family home, with loving parents, he is in full-time education and described by many as “smart,” yet Jamie is struggling. Jamie, like many boys across the country has been brainwashed, through social media into a mistaken view of what it is to be a man, and how to treat others.
The show does well to highlight a lot of issues and contributing factors leading to Jamie’s mindset and the murder he commits:
- The school is shown to have staff who do not understand things being said by the students, including their rapidly changing vocabulary and evolving emojis with hidden meanings. The school is also portrayed as unable to control some students or simply having too many problems for one person to handle.
- Bullying – The show portrays multiple types of bullying. It shows that words and emojis have double meanings, often presenting as pleasant at surface level whilst the deeper meaning reveals harsher realities.
- Role models – the show hints at a lack of role models, it doesn’t say much about Jamie’s grandparents, other than his father, alleging his dad beat him. The show leaves only one clear option of a male role model for Jamie, his father Eddie (portrayed by Stephen Graham.) The show portrays him as a hard-working man, often doing night shifts to earn more money. It portrays Eddie as having a temper, however for me, I see a man trying to do the best for his family.
Social media and pornography – at the root of this topic within the show is Incel (involuntary celibacy) culture. The main definition of Incels being “heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success.” The show mentions Andrew Tate several times, who has risen to social media fame over the last few years. “Inspiring” boys and men to rise with attitudes of misogyny and an incorrect view of masculinity. Social media is full of groups and ideologies fighting for our young people’s attention. The show also tackles pornography and “revenge porn.” Jamie is shown to have posted and shared pornographic images of women as well as indec
Focussing on the ideas Jamie has embraced both online and from friends, episode 3 largely focusses on Jamie’s conversation with psychologist, Briony Ariston (played by Erin Doherty.) In this episode, you can see the misogyny in Jamie’s mindset – frequently standing over Briony, telling her what she can and can’t say to him, whilst simultaneously seeking validation and comfort from her.
All that said, it is easy to look for one reason as to why Jamie murders Kate, or to combine the ideas to form a picture. It is easy to watch the show forming opinions and blaming people, situations or even nation-wide systems. However, ultimately Jamie’s actions are his own. He understands what he has done. It is impossible to monitor someone 100% of the time, it is impossible to control people or control what they see, what they take in and how they feel about these things. We can only do the best we can to support others. This can be a hard thought to face.
So, what are some things that we can do to support young people and counter some of the negativity that surrounds them?
1. Be present – Episode 1 opens with lead detective Luke Bascombe listening to a voicemail from his son saying he’s sick and wants to stay home from school. The other detective, Misha Frank, asks “are you going to call him back?” to which Luke Bascombe explains he’s the soft parent and he will leave the parenting to his wife. However, as the case unfolds, I think Detective Bascombe realises the importance of being present. At the start of episode 2 he is practically interrogating his son, aiming to find out more about the kids at the school. By the end of the episode, he is taking his son out for lunch, aiming to connect and be present.
Young people are crying out for attention, they need to be seen and heard. They need safe spaces to allow for that. As a starting point we need to be present, be there for them. Put your phone down and listen. Whether you are a parent, a social worker or youth worker etc, be present for the young people around you. We should be helping young people find these safe spaces, be it sports groups, clubs in the area or community youth groups.
2. Live what you teach – Young people need role models. This is a big responsibility as no one is perfect, but we need to lead by example to counter misogyny and toxic masculinity. We need to teach young people about healthy relationships, what it means to be a man or woman and how to treat other people. If we can live this out for young people, it will show real-life examples which is far more valuable than what can be read online.
It is also important to ensure we do not idolise role models. No one is perfect and if a young person starts idolising role models, when they slip up and make a mistake, we need to know how to help them process that, rather than following their example.
3. Work together – Finally, we are in this together. It is not anyone’s sole responsibility to raise and protect young people. We must communicate and work together. Across schools, community groups and families it is important to notice things and communicate that. Otherwise, everyone is left with a part image and not the full picture of what is going on in that young person’s life.
Supporting young people cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach. Fresh Start in Education offers so much more than just tutoring. We set up education provisions and teach more than just standard curriculum, we offer mentorship to young people. We teach life skills. We build our young people up and show them a better more meaningful way. We want to work with you to counter toxic ideologies in young people, to help our young people get back onto the right road. Let’s talk about how we can do this together. For more information call us or click the chat box in the bottom right corner.
Adolescence, Masculinity and Misogyny – "It was an all too real reminder of what is out there on social media and how important good role models are in the ever-increasing rise of toxic masculinity."
