Recently, several parents and caregivers have asked us about the new Netflix series “Adolescence”, wondering: We’re going to answer these questions and offer our perspective, without giving away major spoilers, for those who haven’t seen the show yet. Our Thoughts on the Series After watching the 4-part series, we can say that “Adolescence” is a well-crafted, thought-provoking fictional drama that aims to provoke discussion and reflection. The 4-part British series takes a unique “first-person” filming approach, single take with no cuts, immersing viewers in the events as if they were unfolding in real-time right in front of them. While the story is fictional, it sheds light on some of today’s real-world challenges that parents, caregivers, and educators should be aware of, particularly regarding the experiences of teen boys in today’s onlife world. The series opens by revealing “what” happened, a tragic act of violence, but leaves the “why” open to interpretation. In our experience, this mirrors real-life violent crimes, where understanding motivations can be complex. The show effectively presents clues that allow viewers to piece together a broader picture of the factors that may have contributed to the events, including parents asking themselves if they were partly to blame. Parental and Caregiver Considerations The series tackles difficult and mature themes, including radicalization, online influence, and toxic online communities. It introduces the concept of the manosphere and Incel (involuntarily celibate) movement, highlighting their potential impact that feeds on vulnerable young teen boys, but doesn’t really drill down into these issues, but we will in this article. It is our suggestion that parents and caregivers watching with their teens should be prepared for deep conversations about these topics and the broader issue of how online spaces can shape attitudes and behaviours, and we will provide our readers with the resources to do so in this article. “Adolescence” also clearly shows how a teen critical incident may have a long term emotional, psychological, physical, and social effect on all family members.  Something Darren saw time and time agains in his 30 year policing career.  A Critical Note If there was one criticism of the series that stood out as unrealistic to us, it was the depiction of the police response in episode one. The opening scene shows a heavily armed tactical unit (SWAT) breaking down the door of a home to arrest a 13-year-old boy. Based on Darren’s 30 years of experience as a police officer and duty officer who supervised such incidents , this level of force would be highly unlikely in Canada unless there were immediate, exigent circumstances. There are safer, more measured ways law enforcement would typically handle the arrest of a young teen, even one suspected of murder, than was portrayed in the opening scenes. Can online content influence behaviour? “Adolescence” shines a light on masculinity, identity development, parenting, family dynamics and violence, consent, relationships, school dynamics, bullying, peer pressures, and social media to brilliantly show how they all intertwine in shaping the experiences of teenage boys today. As youth and teen boys navigate the critical stage of identity formation (ages 12-18), they grapple with questions about who they are and how they fit into society. Unfortunately, this journey can be complicated by the growing influence of toxic gender expectations, especially as certain online spaces exploit their vulnerabilities. (1) Through education, we have learned that psychologist Erik Erikson identified adolescence as a time of “identity vs. role confusion.” (2) This developmental stage is when teens begin to form a sense of self, often experimenting with different roles and ideologies. In today’s onlife world, young men who feel uncertain or rejected by traditional masculinity often find themselves targeted by the manosphere for recruitment, a collection of online communities that exploit their insecurities, offering rigid and often harmful notions of what it means to be a man. (3) These groups use shame and guilt as tools to manipulate young teen boys, “sometimes” pushing them toward verbal and physical aggression towards females as a means to reclaim control – something we see demonstrated repeatedly in the third episode. The psychological pressure to conform to extreme versions of masculinity can lead to troubling behaviour, as was portrayed in this Netflix series, and seen in real-life incidents of verbal and physical violence stemming from young teen boys who feel alienated and misunderstood. When acts of violence involving young teen boys occur, the immediate focus is on the “what” happened, the sequence of events leading up to the tragedy. But the deeper and more difficult question to answer is the “why?” What societal forces, personal struggles, and psychological influences could have converged to push a teen towards violence? Teen boys today are growing up in a world shaped by cancel culture, the lingering effects of the pandemic, extreme ideological polarization, and increased family violence. In the show, the name Andrew Tate was quickly mentioned as one of the contributing factors in the cause of this extreme ideological polarization. (4) What is important to note – Andrew Tate’s “red pill” ideology is totally different than the “black pill” ideology” of the incel movement, something that we find that most people are missing. However, both are concerning and something that parents, caregivers, and educators need to be aware of. Teen boys are caught between competing polarized messages: the “woke” left calling for gender fluidity and emotional openness and the “extreme” right pushing hyper-masculine dominance. This ideological tug-of-war creates confusion and leaves many young teen boys searching for an identity that feels authentic yet accepted by society and their peers. Not every teen boy fits the mold of what is seen to be “traditional” masculinity, and those who don’t can face rejection, both socially and within their own families. The pressure to conform can create intense feelings of isolation, frustration, and, in some cases, explosive anger. When boys don’t have a safe space to express emotions like sadness, fear, or insecurity, we have seen them channel these feelings into aggression, a response reinforced by toxic gender expectations … Continue reading Should You and Your Child Watch The Netflix’s Series Adolescence? – Our Review