‘Us parents need to up our game’: What’s next after Adolescence?

Parents have questioned what they need to be doing to save their children from the dangers identified in Adolescence (Picture: Netflix)

Harrowing Netflix series Adolescence has shone a terrifying light on the dangers facing young people today.

It’s become a wake-up call for parents, often unaware of the misogynistic and rage-fuelled dangers their children are being exposed to online.

The four-part programme, which holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has been viewed more than 24,300,000 times in just one week.

Shot in one take in each episode, Adolescence stars Line of Duty’s Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in his debut onscreen role as Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy accused of the murder of a girl in his class.

We quickly discover he did do it, but the question then remains of why.

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In its exploration of the radicalisation of young boys on the internet, viewers see the impact the murder had on Jamie’s schoolmates, his own family coming to the realisation they weren’t aware of this side of him, and Owen’s incredible acting switching his behaviour in front of a psychologist (played by Erin Doherty).

The Netflix series follows Jamie Miller, 13, murdering a girl in his class (Picture: Netflix)

Though fictional, the series has been inspired by real-life knife attacks and the horrific acts of violence against women hitting headlines, and teenagers have since spoken out about how little adults ‘understand’ what they’re facing.

Since its launch, parents across the world have been questioning if they need to be doing more to protect their kids from the dangers of extreme misogynistic ideologies like incel culture and the ones spouted by the likes of Andrew Tate.

Commenting on a recent Metro post, hundreds of parents have shared what they’ve learnt from Adolescence, with one called Abi saying: ‘I finished it last night (in a puddle of tears!) – absolutely incredible. The acting was amazing and the way it was filmed was so immersive. Terrifying as the mum of a tween but crucial viewing.’

Sharon added that the ‘harrowing and haunting’ series will have ‘shaken many parents across the land and that has to be a good thing’.

Lucy echoed several others in saying the Netflix show needs to be played in schools.

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The Prime Minister said he watched the programme with his 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter, and added that ‘this violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem, it’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it’.

His comments came after Gareth Southgate spoke of the fears he has that young men are spending too much time gaming, gambling and watching pornography, in a speech discussing the importance of better male role models and not just online influencers.

During an interview with BBC Two’s current affairs programme Newsnight, creator Jack said he hopes ‘we can use this moment to provoke this government to consider quite serious change’.

He referenced that the Australian senate has passed a social media ban for young children, saying: ‘I would extend it further, it is about gaming too, and it’s about getting inside all these different systems.’

He admitted there were ‘good’ things about social media and gaming, but stressed the government should legislate to protect teenagers and see ‘what change that could bring to our society’.

Creator Jack Thorne has stressed the importance of Adolescence in sparking change (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)

Presenter Richard Bacon has questioned if we treat the crisis unfolding in the same way we have with smoking, asking on Question Time this week whether ‘we should treat smartphones like cigarettes and just say they should be illegal until you’re 16’.

In an interview ahead of Adolescence’s launch, Stephen – who shares two teenage children with fellow actress wife Hannah Walters – gave a warning to parents, telling The Independent: ‘It’s just being mindful of the fact that not only we parent our children, and not only the school educates our children.

‘But also there’s influences that we have no idea of that are having profound effects on our young culture, profound effects, positive and extremely negative. So it’s having a look at that and seeing that we’re all accountable.’

‘When we were kids, if you got sent to your room or if Kenny Everett was on the telly, and it got a bit racy, you’d be sent to your room and then you couldn’t watch it,’ he added.

‘But today even within the context of that home, when lads and girls go to their bedrooms, they have the world at their fingertips.’

Adolescence is available to watch on Netflix.

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