Adolescence, a new Netflix series released on the 13 th of March 2025, has had rave reviews from the breakout actor Owen Cooper’s performance to the Prime Minister praising the programme in Prime Minister’s Questions. The show tells the story of 13-year-old Jamie Cooper, who is accused of killing his schoolmate, Katie. The show starts on the day of Jamie’s arrest takes place and throughout the series shows the police investigation, the journey through the justice system and the impact of the investigation on his family.
The four-part drama was written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, who also plays Jamie’s dad, Eddie. The idea came after the stabbing of Ava White in Liverpool in 2021 by 15-year-old Elianne Andam. The series focuses on why Jamie killed Katie, what his intentions and motives were.
It is revealed in the series that the influence of social media and misogynistic influencers were part of the reason for Jamie’s attack. The show powerfully impacts viewers on how social media and influencers can negatively impact children’s behaviour and contribute to bullying. The show shines a light on incel culture and misogyny which is spreading rapidly on online social media platforms.
But what is incel culture? Incel is a slang term for ‘involuntary celibate’ and used to describe a heterosexual man who blames women and society for their lack of romantic success. Incel culture has grown alongside the growth of social media; people now have a place to anonymously meet with like-minded people and discuss their views and opinions without repercussions.
Incel culture is closely linked to the idea of the ‘manosphere’ which is a network of online male communities that promote anti-feminist and sexist beliefs. This online culture can easily influence children and young adults, in particular boys and this negative message can cause serious harm, as shown in Adolescence. The show highlights how incel culture spreads around school environments and how it affects behaviour.
Most importantly, this show should be a wake-up call for parents as to the extremities of social media and how, in this day and age, you can’t be too careful with monitoring young teenagers’; content on media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Social media can be a great way for young people to connect; however, it can also be very negative and responsible for the decline in people’s mental health. It also enables bullying on another level, as social media enables constant contact and a more incessant type of bullying than bullying prior to social media’s existence.
Toxic masculinity has sparked conversation since influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, who rose to fame through Big Brother back in 2016, started spreading his viewpoints across social media. Since Big Brother, he has amassed a huge following on social media where he shares his extremist opinions with his followers. However, since December 2022 Tate and his brother have been facing several civil and criminal legal cases, including allegations of rape and human trafficking.
Even though Tate is not named in the drama series, references are made to misogynistic influencers who are ‘brainwashing’ teens into believing their extremist views. The show has been an instant success with viewers, flying to number one on Netflix’s watchlist and becoming a must-watch for 2025. One of the highlights is Owen Cooper’s debut performance as the 13-year-old Jamie Miller.
His performance shows viewers the harsh reality of how social media can influence a young teen’s behaviour, and the realities of how mean and cruel children can be to each other on the internet, and for it to go unnoticed by adults and social media monitors. Overall, Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham have done an incredible job of bringing to light such an important topic of conversation. Since its release, Adolescence has now been made available to all UK secondary schools for free through the IntoFilm+ streaming service, which will help educate children on the dangers of social media and help stop the spread of incel culture around schools across the UK.
The show has had an unprecedented impact globally and has shone a spotlight on a problem that many were unaware was happening. So, if you haven’t already watched Adolescence and are looking for your next show to watch on Netflix, look no further.