The trending Netflix mini-series ‘Adolescence’ plunges viewers into an unsettling world of adolescent children struggling to find their identities. Presented through the lens of 13-year-old Jamie and his inner turmoil, Adolescence portrays how (digital) media perpetuates, challenges, and reinforces harmful stereotypes; shaping perceptions of masculinity, gender, sexuality, peer pressure, and vulnerability. Based on multiple real-life murder cases in the UK (Lenthang, 2021; Adams, 2025), the show opens with the arrest of Jamie (Owen Cooper) for stabbing a young girl, Katie (Emilia Holliday). It powerfully portrays how boys internalise (societal) masculinity, often propagated by media and social-media influencers (Cala et al., 2024), especially in the manosphere community.

One of the most striking sceneswas when the police confronted Jamie about liking and reposting inappropriate pictures of women, his father remained silent. However, when Jamie was questioned about his sexual relationship with Katie, his father immediately interjected, calling it ‘a bit strong’. Hence, showcasing the normalisation of a culture where women’s bodies can be used, shared, and even ridiculed without men being held accountable (Douglas, 2015).

As a researcher working closely with schools across Delhi-NCR, I observed patterns of school-based violence in the show that mirror real-life instances of bullying, (sexual) harassment, and peer pressure. In the show, the students, including Jamie, face relentless bullying. In one of the scenes, Katie’s best friend, Jade (Fatima Bojang) punches Ryan, accusing him of murder, as other boys say, “You just got banged by a girl, you sausage!” while recording him on their phones.

Bullying and gender-based violence in schools are often met with gendered and/or inadequate solutions. One such example is the RAKSHA scheme under Samagra Shiksha — focussing on self-defence training for girls (Hindu, 2025), inadvertently reinforcing restrictive gender norms; encouraging them to use washrooms only in groups and discouraging interaction with male peers. Meanwhile, boys and male staff are absent from interventions addressing their roles in fostering a safer school environment.

In one of the scenes, the male teacher’s dismissal of the suggestion of a grief support room for students after Katie’s death reflects a broader societal pattern — where such tragedies typically lead to only increased security through confinement. An analogous context from India would be the setting up of ‘anti-romeo’ squads (Hindu, 2024) to protect women from sexual harassment in public places. The policy comes from the similar mindset of victim-shaming (Srivastava, 2024), that curbs the rights and mobility of women.

There were instances where female teachers like – Ms Fenumore (Jo Hartley) and Ms Bailey (Hannah Walters), faced disrespect from male students – with one being told to ‘shut up’ and the other dismissed with ‘what the fuck she’s on about’. In contrast, male teachers disciplining students were met with silence. Growing up, in the schools in my neighbourhood, the female teachers would plead with the students to enter the classrooms. But they would be dismissed with, “Jaa na gawaar, aa rahe hain!” (Go away, illiterate, we are coming!). However, at the mere sight of a male teacher, they would immediately comply. The perception of authority based on gender — both in the show and in reality, reflects the societal biases that shape adolescent behaviour.

After Jade punches Ryan (Kaine Davis) in the face, her mother is called to the school. In a moment of vulnerability, she confronts Ms. Bailey, “Why have you called her, she will be mad at me if she has to get out of work!” The conversation reminded me of workshops I facilitated on digital media, happiness, and socio-emotional well-being (UNESCO, 2024). Students from low socio-economic backgrounds associated happiness with financial and material security — access to books, the internet, and leisure — while students from privileged backgrounds associated happiness with emotional fulfilment (Unterhalter, 2007) such as – parents attending their annual day, spending quality time with family; something that their government school peers seemed to share, despite (financial) hardships.

The third was deeply unsettling and I found myself crying profusely. This episode dives into Jamie’s inner turmoil through the lens of a forensic psychologist, Ms Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty). The psychological unravelling of Jamie exposes the fragile yet volatile nature of masculinity (Chowkhani, 2024; Gupta, 2025), the desperate need for likability, and the deep-seated struggle for identity. The desirability for adolescent children is higher, as we can see Ryan in the show focussing on being popular and likeable, even after a nosebleed. While, D.I Bascome (Ashley Walters), as a father, struggles to be liked and accepted by his son (Adam).

At first, Jamie appears as a naive 13-year-old boy, engaging in a clinical conversation with Ms. Ariston. But the moment conversations swing towards his father, masculinity, or Katie, his demeanour shifts violently — rage erupts like a force too big for his adolescent frame and his scream echoes through the room. It’s unnerving to witness a child wield such emotional volatility in response to a woman’s measured inquiry. In one chilling moment, he calls himself ugly, waiting for the psychologist to contradict him. When she doesn’t, his frustration mounts. Equally gripping was the way Jamie’s mother (Christine Tremarco) and sister (Christine Tremarco) walked on eggshells, trying to manage the emotions of the men around them (Chowkhani, 2021), particularly Edward. Jamie recalls a childhood football match, where his poor performance earned his father’s silent disappointment — just as Edward turned away upon discovering Jamie’s crime. In a heartbreaking confession, Jamie pleads, “You were supposed to say he is not ashamed”.

The influence of social media and the manosphere’s toxic ideologies (Lennon, 2025) comes to light when Adam explains to his father — how “80% women are attracted to 20% men who must trick them because you would not get them in a normal way” (Marche 2016; Desai, 2025). He further pointed out Katie’s comments – of calling Jamie an incel, i.e., an online sub-culture where young men consider themselves unable to attract women sexually, and as a result, blame, objectify, and denigrate women and girls (Desai, 2025).

Jamie insists that he doesn’t condone the ideas of incel culture, yet his words and actions suggest otherwise. Social media subtly seeps into our thoughts (Abrams, 2023; Panagiotopoulo, 2024), often without us realising it. One of the most telling moments in Adolescence is his immediate yet fabricated response to the psychologist about his sexual experiences. Under pressure, he falsely claims to have been intimate with two girls, only to later admit he lied — a reflection of the peer pressure (Birgi, 2023), toxic boys’ locker room culture (Clarance & Perera, 202-), the misguided construct of the friend-zone (Dumont, 2022), and the deep-seated influence of hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy.

The episode was chilling – as I watched a 13-year-old confess in the heat of the moment; resulting in him lashing out at the therapist, shouting and abusing. Yet, the moment he saw a male police officer, he fell silent. The shift was almost imperceptible. What irked Jamie, even more, was how effortlessly Ms. Ariston handled the situation—with quiet control, she made the officer leave. Jamie forced a smirk on his face as if to reclaim his power. He directly looked at the psychologist, almost challenging, “Did I scare you when I shouted. I mean I’m only 13, I don’t think I’m that scary”. Jamie’s idea of a man, at first, was nothing more than cock and balls. When Ms. Ariston asks Jamie if his dad is loving, he responds, “No, that is weird”. Even in his most desperate moment, Jamie wanted only his father to know that he wanted to plead guilty. The knowledge that his mother and sister were involved in the conversation left him unsettled.

During the conversation, Jamie makes a disturbing revelation — he has seen topless photos of girls from his school, including Katie’s, shared by her ex-boyfriend. When asked if he liked Katie, Jamie dismisses and says, ‘She isn’t my type’ for being ‘flat-chested’. Yet, when Katie was ostracised, he seized the opportunity to ask her out — not out of affection, but because he believed that her vulnerability made her gettable. Resentful, he repeatedly calls Katie a ‘bullying bitch’ but his bitterness is most evident when he recalls the night and says: “I could have touched her — any part of her. But I didn’t. Most boys would have. Doesn’t that make me better? Don’t you think?”

Adolescence broke barriers on the screen and made the characters feel up close and personal. The series ends with the father saying, ‘But we did everything right’. The statement encapsulates the mindset of many parents who believe that raising a child is simply about following certain rules. Jamie and his sister had the same upbringing, yet their adolescent experiences were different. Similarly, in Indian families — the aggression, entitlement or recklessness of boys are mostly dismissed as ‘boys will be boys’ (Dutt, 2014) whereas the girls are (in)conspicuously taught restraint, responsibility, morality, etc. Thus, when parents say, ‘but we did everything right’, they often mean they followed societal rules, but the show compels us to think: What did we normalise? What did we excuse? Through our actions, what did we (un)consciously teach our children about power, gender, and consequence?

Instead of guiding young children, especially boys and men towards empathy, the internet has given rise to figures who exploit their vulnerability. Rather than creating safe spaces where one can express oneself without judgement (Bengani, 2025), online influencers like Andrew Tate offer a twisted, misguided and false sense of belonging. They acknowledge male loneliness to weaponise it, turning women and other genders into an enemy. Concepts such as the 80-20 rule (Fanucchi, 2023) are used to convince boys that only a small fraction of men is desirable and the rest must resort to manipulation to seek validation or love. However, masculinity is not meant to be a cage – it should be as vast as the sea – embracing and accepting boys who embrace vulnerability, talk about love and fear (Taneja, 2023) and enable others who struggle to express themselves. Adolescence exposes the dangers of perceptions, narratives, and social media. It’s not just a crime story, it’s a reflection of the world that often fails its boys before they ever have a chance to become men.

References

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Shruti Das is a graduate and recipient of the prestigious IOE-ISH Centenary Master’s Scholarship for MA Education, Gender, and International Development at UCL’s Institute of Education. She works at the intersection of education, gender, sociology, and international development across South Asia. Shruti has worked on grassroots, national, and international projects engaging children, young girls, and women within complex socio-cultural contexts. She is passionate about learning with children and has experience collaborating with key governmental, educational stakeholders, and policymakers.