Netflix’s Adolescence premiered on Thursday, March 13 and it is raising some very important discussions about the impact social media has on young boys.

The show, which is directed by Phillip Baratini, follows a family whose world is turned upside down when their 13-year-old son Jamie is arrested for stabbing a girl to death.

The limited series has four episodes which are all done in one shot. This adds an element of uncomfortable realism to an already grim topic.

The decision to make each episode one shot definitely pays off. But what viewers should really take away from the show is the negative influence that social media personalities such as Andrew Tate have on young boys.

Andrew Tate, a former boxer and self-proclaimed misogynist, is very popular in the incel community.

Those with views and followings like Andrew Tate’s should not be ignored. They are threat to all genders and Adolescence shows the very frightening impact that they have.

Andrew Tate and brother Tristan Tate were arrested in Romania in December 2022 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group. Image credit: Daniel Mihailescu via Getty Images

Kyle Clifford is a real example of this. On 9 July 2024 Kyle Clifford raped and murdered his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt as well as killing her sister and mother. Less than 24 before this, he had been searching for misogynistic podcasts.

And it seems like the violent epidemic towards women and girls is getting even worse. Stephen Graham, one of the shows leads and co-creators, shared the inspiration for the show:

“A young boy had stabbed a young girl to death. And then a few months later, on the news (…) there was a story about a young boy stabbing a young girl to death and it was in a completely different part of the country. And if I’m really honest with you, and I’ve said this before, it really hurt my heart. And I just kind thought ‘what’s happening today in society where a young boy is stabbing a young girl to death?’”

Adolescence opens up some uncomfortable but very important conversations about the digital age and masculinity. Episode three, in particular is very hard to watch and demonstrates the entitlement and rage that the incel community is creating in both men and boys.

This show should be a wake up call. Young boys are being radicalised and corrupted online and we must put a stop to it.

Netflix series Adolescence is a warning about online misogyny