Rosa Pessagno
The release of Netflix’s newest miniseries Adolescence has sparked important and timely conversations about the influence online communities have on promoting misogynistic ideologies. The series follows the family of a 13-year-old boy who is arrested for killing a female classmate. It explores the impact of toxic digital subcultures on teenage boys, and it has resonated widely with viewers. The series offers a stark warning that young minds are vulnerable to manipulation in a world where digital influence can outweigh real-world guidance.
What makes the series so compelling, and disturbing, is its realism. It successfully captures what attending a British secondary school is like, from the language used to the school fights. On a darker level, the show captures how dangerous ideologies slip through the cracks of school ‘protection’, reaching teens. Through memes, pseudo-scientific videos and charismatic influences, harmful beliefs get framed as rebellious, rational and even liberating. Young people are not often equipped to spot this manipulation of the truth, especially when it’s buried under lies and humour. This is exactly where the danger lies.
These subcultures often offer simplified explanations for complex emotional issues, creating an illusion of control and superiority that appeals to those feeling powerless.
Research has shown that platforms like YouTube, Reddit, and certain Discord servers are frequently used to push vulnerable boys into echo chambers where women are dehumanised and blamed for personal and societal problems. These subcultures often offer simplified explanations for complex emotional issues, creating an illusion of control and superiority that appeals to those feeling powerless.
The psychological impact of this can be profound. Boys who engage with such content over time often exhibit increased aggression, social withdrawal, and a skewed understanding of gender dynamics. As Adolescence illustrates, this not only damages their relationships with others but affects their own mental well-being. Alienation, resentment, and shame become embedded in their worldview, reinforcing the very loneliness that led them to these communities in the first place.
So, how should we respond?
Firstly, education should be a priority. It is imperative that young people understand the warning signs of radicalisation. As discussed earlier, online misogyny is usually cloaked in humour and lies, and it is vital that parents and teachers provide tools to spot it early on, before young people become wrapped up in it.
Parents or caregivers also play a critical role. Open, judgment-free communication is key. Teens are less likely to seek guidance if they fear shame or punishment. Adults need to be aware of the online spaces their children are part of, not to control them, but to understand them, and provide useful education and advice on the rights and wrongs of what they are watching. Conversations about the emotional realities of adolescence—rejection, loneliness, insecurity—should happen early and often. When young people feel seen and heard in real life, they’re less likely to seek dangerous validation online.
Algorithms should not be amplifying harmful content
Secondly, more pressure should be put on social media providers to take more responsibility. Algorithms should not be amplifying harmful content, and more restrictions should be placed on the type of content that is permitted on sites. Although sites may have blocks on explicit forms of hate speech, there is little in place to reduce the more subtle content, cloaked in humour. There should be an increase in software that has the capability to detect and deplatform trends or influencers promoting harmful material.
Lastly, there should be more positive role models for young people, specifically boys, to look up to. It is obvious that influencers have the capability to shape young minds, so there needs to be an increase in influencers who promote healthy masculinity and emotional maturity. We need content that shows and promotes a better way forward, content that is empathetic and understanding of young people.
The conversations that Adolescence has sparked may be uncomfortable and upsetting, but they are necessary if we wish to move forward. The key now is to not let this problem slip through the cracks, but to keep it at the forefront of everyone’s minds. If we want to protect the next generation and the generations after them, we must start now.
Rosa Pessagno
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