Netflix popular new show Adolescence should not be used as a teaching aid to combat misogyny, and more proactive and preventative education using positive male role models needs to be used in schools, according to youth charities.

The four-part series about a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a teenage girl, delves into areas such as toxic masculinity and the malign influence of online personalities, and was provided free to watch in UK high schools last month, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying he thought young boys should watch it.

Noah Bloch, co-head of curriculum at youth-led not-for-profit Consent Labs, said there was no harm in young boys watching the show, but he believed it shouldn’t be used to teach students.

“To use it as an educational tool kind of defeats its point because the purpose of it wasn’t for education necessarily… it wasn’t targeted towards young men and boys,” he said.

“I think it was more so targeted for people who are responsible for young men and boys to highlight the harm of the ‘manosphere’ for them.

“I think, rather, we need proactive and preventative education within schools and ones that really uplift positive male role models as alternative options.”

A worldwide hit, amassing 96.7 million views and topping Netflix’s charts in Australia, Adolescence was released in March and focuses on the character of Jamie Miller and the dangers of social media amid a rise of incel culture and male violence.

The show’s creators Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, said they also wanted to draw awareness to the UK’s growing knife crime problem.

This is not new to us. We see boys like Jamie regularly. [It] very much hit the nail on the head in how young boys seek validation and community in unsafe spaces.

Knife violence in the UK is at an all-time high with around 50,500 offences in the year ending March 2024 according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics.

To the contrary crimes involving knives in Australia have decreased since 2004, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Amy Harvison, head of programs and operations at youth charity Top Blokes, said it was important to build empathy, awareness, self-respect and self-leadership of boys and young men in workplaces and schools in NSW and Queensland.

“This is not new to us. We see boys like Jamie regularly,” she told Central News.

“I say that not as though boys that will go out and kill… but boys like Jamie being the ones that may be getting bullied… maybe struggling with their identity and who they are meant to be, and as a result they go inward rather than outward. They don’t seek help… they go to online chats.

“It was very eye opening to hear the rhetoric that came from [Adolescence] because we are faced with this every single day. So, [it] very much hit the nail on the head in how young boys seek validation and community in unsafe spaces.”

The show has prompted debate about ideas of masculinity and the ‘manosphere’, an online anti-feminist community promoting misogyny and influenced by the likes of Andrew Tate.

In one episode of Adolescence Jamie explains the ’80/20 rule ‘to his child psychologist, that 80 per cent of women are attracted to the top 20 per cent of men. The theory is a core belief held by incels, or involuntary celibates, which are a group of young men that express misogynistic  views online.

 

Harvison said having conversations in safe spaces to help give young boys develop the skills to build better decision making was essential to combat sexist messaging spread online, she was also critical of using Adolescence as an educational tool.

“If we show this as a learning tool, we have the very big opportunity to isolate our boys and young men further because we are calling them out… and saying this who we think you are,” she said.

“I think that is a really dangerous precedent to set because what we should be doing instead of calling boys out is calling them in. So, rather than saying… ‘this is what you will turn into if we don’t intervene’, we need to be having the conversations to our boys and young men saying, ‘so what’s going on for you and how can we support you to live your life in a more full and holistic way’.”

Research by Monash University published in 2024 found women teachers and girls experience an increase in sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour in Australian schools, influenced by the ideas of Andrew Tate.

Misogyny in Australia, particularly amongst young men and boys is not decreasing.

Consent Labs educates high school and tertiary students as well as communities about the importance of consent and respectful relationships to help eradicate sexual violence in Australia.

“[Adolescence shines] a light on some of the causes of men and boy’s violence… being the influence of harmful online male role models and that pipeline of consuming that content to misogyny and violence from there,” Bloch said.

“Misogyny in Australia, particularly amongst young men and boys, is not decreasing.

“We are seeing a steady, if not increase, in misogynist views… a lot of that feels like the parroting of harmful messages that [young boys] are receiving elsewhere.

“Social media is one of those places but it’s also not the only place. There’s an absence of positive male role models for these boys. So, they are still seeing it in Australian culture more broadly and I think that is reflected in social media”.

Need to talk? Help is available.

  • If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing sexual, family or domestic violence call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732
  • If you are worried about your behaviour, contact Mensline on 1300 789 978 or visit mensline.org.au.
  • Support is available 24/7 at Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) or Lifeline (13 11 14)
  • In an emergency, call 000

Main Image supplied by Netflix Media Center.