The truth about the toxic content fed to our children

Some parents are too afraid to watch the new Netflix drama ‘Adolescence’ but the reality of what youngsters experience online needs to be faced head-on by us all, says Chloe Combi

- Chloe Combi

This week, Netflix released a series starring national treasure Stephen Graham, depicting a family in which the 13-year-old son has murdered a school friend who rejected him.

Over four episodes, we slowly learn how this sweet-looking boy from a cookie-cutter suburban family has committed the most heinous of acts. We begin to understand that (spoiler alert!) he has been heavily influenced and shaped by the “manosphere” – the online world populated by proponents of toxic masculinity such as Andrew Tate.

The girl rejected him, which, it is explained, is not acceptable according to the lore of red-pilling – a term that originates from the 1999 film The Matrix but has been repurposed by male supremacist movements. In this context, young men are encouraged to “take the red pill” – a completely metaphorical concept of relinquishing all notions of equality, inclusivity or kindness and realigning with their true, alpha male nature.

What’s so brilliant about this show is how normal and, in many ways, likeable the character (stunningly played by newcomer Owen Cooper) is. While the manosphere conjures up images of violent thugs and misogynists, here the boy accused of murdering his classmate is just like many of our sons, nephews, grandsons, and friends.

Many parents are saying they are too scared to watch. For some, the brutal realisation that this warped hyper-masculine ideology is no longer niche or underground is too terrifying. The truth is that this toxic extremism is being spoon-fed into the mainstream minds of normal kids 24/7 – and has been for a while. Only now are we beginning to see the harrowing consequences.

After 15 years of a life lived online, almost all of us have succumbed to a relationship with the screen in which we have (unwittingly) sacrificed our concentration, reading of books and mental wellbeing to a box made of metal and glass.