Teenagers share what they really think about Netflix’s Adolescence

Adolescence has been watched by millions (Picture: Netflix)

Netflix’s latest series Adolescence has become a national talking point with its hard-hitting but truthful look at the prevalent manosphere and its potentially dangerous consequences. 

The drama created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham follows 13-year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper) as he is accused of murdering female classmate Katie (Emilia Holliday).

The whydunnit exposes Jamie’s disturbed set of views about women, which become most clear when the teen is assessed by clinical psychologist Briony (Erin Doherty). In one tense moment, the youngster claims he should be admired for not sexually assaulting Katie before killing her. 

The influence of extreme misogynist Andrew Tate – a sort of frontman for the anti-women content online – is mentioned during the investigation. Eddie and Manda (Stephen and Christine Tremarco) also admit their son spent hours on the internet alone in his bedroom, alluding that this contributed to his attitude.

Although the four-part series is fictional, it is inspired by the alarming increase in real-life knife attacks. Ministry of Justice convicted or cautioned upwards of 18,000 knife-related crimes over one year – 17.3% of the offenders in the attacks are between the ages of 10 and 17. In the same week as Adolescence’s release a 15-year-old boy was found guilty of the attempted murder of a 14-year-old girl with a samurai-style sword during a Halloween camping trip.

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While many have praised Adolescence’s unflinching exploration of the complicated topic, it begs the question, what have younger viewers made of the show as it attempts to reflect some of their reality?

The series is fictional but inspired by real-world issues (Picture: Ben Blackall/Netflix) ‘The culture is everywhere’

Speaking to Metro, Alex, 18, calls Jamie’s actions ‘disgusting’ but adds that unfortunately the character’s attitude is not unfamiliar. 

‘The way he acts and speaks is what I’ve witnessed from people around me. He gets angry when the girl says no to dating him, that entitlement, I definitely see that.

‘A lot,’ he quickly adds.

‘I’ve had a friend send me a misogynistic video and tell me to watch it. That was the point I stopped speaking to him.

‘I’ve noticed such a change in my friends when they became involved in consuming that kind of stuff to the point they are not the people I want to hang out with.

‘Even people who don’t watch the videos can end up in an indoctrinated state because the culture is everywhere.’

However, Alex is keen to highlight that it’s far from everyone that thinks this way, with some of his classmates even calling out people for spreading the viewpoint.

‘Adults don’t understand teenagers and social media’

Isobel, 15, was struck by how Adolescence reflected the impact social media has on young people today.

‘What felt really truthful was how much it is a big part of the school children’s lives. I don’t think adults always understand that,’ she explains.

‘I’ve been told to spend less time on social media but it’s easier said than done because although it has its bad parts including people using it to intimidate each other, you also miss out if you leave completely. We’ve had assemblies at school to try and get a handle on it but they can’t really do anything about it.’