THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.
The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.
Starmer, who watched Adolescence with his teenage children, said the drama “hit home hard.” The series follows the case of a 13-year-old boy who fatally stabs a girl after being radicalised online. The internet and social media, Starmer said, allow ideology to be “pumped directly into the minds of our children.”
Released on 13 March, Adolescence explores the aftermath of the schoolgirl’s stabbing and the hidden meanings young people attach to seemingly innocent emojis.
Maria Neophytou of the NSPCC said the Downing Street meeting was a “critical milestone.”
“The online world is being polluted by harmful and misogynistic content, which is having a direct impact on young people’s thinking and behaviour. This cannot be allowed to continue,” she said.
The show has resonated with viewers concerned about knife crime among young people and the influence of figures such as Andrew Tate.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that British teenager Axel Rudakubana, who killed three girls in a knife attack last July, had watched footage of another high-profile stabbing before his crime.
Pressures on young people
Australia banned social media access for under-16s last year.
Adolescence also highlights the “incel” culture, where men who feel unattractive to women develop a deep resentment towards them.
Netflix’s vice president of UK content, Anne Mensah, said the series had helped to show the pressures faced by young people and parents.
The show recorded 24.3 million views in its first four days, making it Netflix’s most-watched series between 10-16 March, according to Variety.
New UK regulations under the Online Safety Act, which took effect on 17 March, require technology firms to tackle illegal content, including extreme pornography and child sex abuse material. However, critics have dismissed the measures as “timid.”
Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life at 14 in 2017 after viewing harmful content online, criticised the regulatory approach. He said media regulator Ofcom was overly concerned with legal challenges and accommodating tech companies.
“Worried parents across the country are dismayed by yet more half measures,” he said.
Jack Thorne, writer of Adolescence, said he hoped the series would help initiate meaningful discussions and policy changes.
“It’s about other people... being given the opportunity to have conversations they haven’t had before and that they should have had, that might lead to policy change and things being made better for our young people,” he told Sky News.
(With inputs from AFP)
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