Adolescence

The radicalisation of young men by the manosphere and social media... Truly one of the issues of our time. It was really interesting listening to a lot of the discussion around this show from the position of someone who has been in a high school setting in recent years (and is hoping to pursue teaching as a career). First of all, the depiction of the school was perfectly done in my opinion. Every performance felt absolutely spot on, exactly what you'd expect from a school reeling from a tragedy. I think a lot of people were shocked at the representations of the school behaviour but I didn't see anything being played up or down, this was a masterpiece at play. As for the central themes of the show- toxic masculinity, the manosphere, social media, radicalisation, misogyny, power- these were all handled in such a measured way. I feel like a lot of people watch and think "wow, young men are going off the rails". Fair observation. But what interests me is how you address this. Is the answer a social media ban for under 16s? Probably not. Is it in the restriction of phone use during school time? Maybe? Is it in going to the root of the problem and giving youg lads strong and healthily masculine role models? That's what I'd put my money on. I think that's what makes the fourth episode such a chilling watch. Stephen Graham's performance captures all the subtle facets of a father who struggles with communication and anger. One moment of rage, another of lightheartedness. And then the final crushing revelation: "We made him...". I can only imagine what this watch would have been like from the perspective of a parent. But I believe the point being made- supported by Briony's line of questioning in episode 3- is that parenting and the role models are at the heart of this growing issue. This isn't to say that the cesspit of the chronically online manosphere hasn't exacerbated the problem; it adds gas to the fire and should be addressed. Truth be told, addressing the corrupting influence of social media will probably be a whole lot easier than shifting parenting culture. But part of my motivation for going into teaching is believing in the small good that a positive role model might be able to make to some young people's lives. Thank you to everyone who worked on this project for bringing light and attention to such an important issue facing the next generation.