One of the most talked-about TV shows in recent years, Netflix’s gripping drama Adolescence, has sparked intense debate this week—from the House of Commons to US talk shows and even the school gates of the scriptwriter’s son. The series tells the sory of a fictional case of a 13-year-old boy accused of stabbing a girl, exploring the societal and psychological factors that could have led him down a violent path.
“I’ve been hearing from people I haven’t spoken to in years, telling me about the conversations they’re now having with their children,” says writer Jack Thorne. “That’s incredibly rewarding.”
Thorne recalls an encounter with his son’s headteacher at the school gates: “He stopped me to say, ‘I’d like to discuss this with you and think about what our school—and others—can do.’” These conversations, Thorne notes, are emerging in a variety of unexpected places.
Now, he is urging the government to take “radical action” to address the issues raised in the show, particularly the dangers of social media and the growing influence of incel (involuntary celibate) ideologies, which promote resentment towards women over perceived romantic and professional failures.
However, the drama—created by Thorne alongside actor Stephen Graham—doesn’t solely blame incel culture, the writer tells the BBC. “I really hope this story shows that Jamie’s situation is shaped by a complex web of factors,” Thorne explains.
The series highlights the roles played by his parents, school, and friends in shaping his experiences. Yet Jamie, portrayed by Owen Cooper, is relentlessly bullied on social media, made to feel unattractive, and exposed to incel messaging that distorts his understanding of relationships and sexual violence.
“He’s a vulnerable kid, and then he encounters these ideas that seem to explain why he feels isolated, why he doesn’t fit in,” Thorne says. “He absorbs it all because he doesn’t yet have the ability to filter what’s harmful.” Caught between societal pressures and his own insecurities, Jamie begins to believe that violence is the only way to regain control.
To understand Jamie’s world, Thorne immersed himself in the same online spaces, navigating the digital rabbit holes of platforms like 4Chan and Reddit. What he found was that these harmful messages weren’t just coming from the most obvious sources.
“It wasn’t just Andrew Tate. It wasn’t the big figures of the manosphere,” he explains. Instead, the most unsettling content came from smaller, less conspicuous places—blogs, vlogs, or even casual discussions about video games that subtly fed into misogynistic narratives.
“It was people using a video game to explain why women hate you. That was the stuff I found most disturbing.” While these issues aren’t new, Adolescence has landed at a moment when others are also raising alarms about the dangerous messages targeting boys and young men.
Just this week, former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate spoke out against “callous, manipulative, and toxic influencers,” warning that they are “as far away as you could possibly get from the role models our young men need.”
Thorne agrees Southgate is “amazing” but argues that the problem goes beyond simply providing better role models. “We’ve been having that conversation since I was a kid,” he says. “At this point, we need something more radical. It’s not just about role models.”
While positive influences can help, Thorne insists the real issue is the culture young people are consuming—and the technology that enables it.
“It was a really interesting speech, but I was hoping he’d propose more radical solutions than he did.”
So what could those solutions be?
Recently Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told Parliament that he has been watching the “very good” drama Adolescence with his teenage children. Addressing the Commons, he condemned the influence of online content on young men who commit acts of violence, calling it “abhorrent” and emphasizing that it is “also a matter of culture” that must be addressed. Thorne hopes the Prime Minister recognizes the urgency of the issue.
“There is a crisis happening in our schools, and we need to think seriously about how to stop boys from harming girls—and each other,” he says. Tackling the problem, he argues, requires a multifaceted approach that involves both schools and families—with significant government intervention.
As part of that effort, Thorne urges Sir Keir to “rather urgently” consider banning smartphones in schools and introducing a “digital age of consent.” He points to Australia, which recently passed a law prohibiting children under 16 from using social media.
The writer suggests going even further—extending restrictions to all smartphone use and gaming for young people. “I think we should follow Australia’s lead and separate our children from this pernicious disease of thought that is infecting them,” he says. Such a ban, however, would likely face strong resistance from teenagers.
This week, Thorne appeared on BBC Two’s Newsnight alongside three young men, aged 18, 19, and 21, to discuss the impact of social media. When asked about banning under-16s from social media, their reactions were mixed.
One called it “a great idea, within reason.” Another thought it would be “quite unfair.” The third opposed the idea entirely, arguing that “social media has brought a lot of good to young generations as well.”
For Thorne, the debate is becoming personal. His son is eight, and before long, he’ll be asking for a phone of his own. Thorne wants to ensure he establishes “a method of communicating with him” as he navigates the digital world. Writing Adolescence has forced him to confront the challenges young people—and their parents—face in the online age. But as for how to tackle them? That, he admits, is the hardest part.
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