I watched the Netflix show, Adolescence, during the week, along with millions of other people. Data released indicates that it is the most-watched British production of all time on the streaming platform.
Since then, I have read countless articles and listened to podcasts and interviews about the show; so much commentary on it that I’m not sure if the thoughts I have about the show are entirely my own anymore.
There’s irony in that because the show aims to warn us that our children’s heads can become full of thoughts that are not their own when they are overly exposed to online content – and that content can be very harmful.
In short, I would highly recommend the four-part series, Adolescence, to anyone with kids growing up in these crazy times. It’s a real eye-opener about how kids nowadays can be more influenced by the toxic online world than by their parents and even their friends.
It’s a cautionary tale about our need to stay wholly engaged with our children – to be emotionally and mentally present for them as they navigate the formative teenage years.
The series deals with the aftermath of a murder. A 13-year-old boy, Jamie, is accused of the brutal crime; the victim is Katie, a girl not much older than himself. He insists that he didn’t do it. He’s wide-eyed like a rabbit. His father asks him solemnly and in confidence if he did it and he says no, so the father chooses to believe his son. How could he commit such an atrocity anyway?
Then, the police play irrefutable CCTV footage of the crime. The father recoils in horror as he grapples with this earth-shattering reality. His 13-year-old child is a murderer.
The series follows the police investigation, the psychological assessment of Jamie, and Jamie’s family as they struggle to cope in the aftermath of the crime.
The last episode in particular is a harrowing watch. Jamie’s parents sit on their bed in tears, wondering how their parenting choices ‘made’ Jamie the way he is. They are hardworking, normal people, after all.
The show doesn’t aim to cast blame on the parents, but it examines their natural inclination to blame themselves. We are told Jamie spent a lot of time online, late at night. His parents assumed he was safe because he was in his bedroom.
The show explores how social media can warp a young person’s self-perception and the world around them: Jamie was exposed to extreme misogynistic views online that apparently changed the course of his life. It is an alarming insight into the secretive and dark world our young people engage with through social media.
Some people argue that it’s nonsense to read so much into a TV show; kids won’t all turn into murderers, just because we let them have smartphones. But the danger of them being negatively influenced online is very real.
Statistics released by Oide show that 99 per cent of children in Ireland aged 12-14 have a smartphone. And 61 per cent of those have unlimited access to the online world.
As parents, we need to monitor our children’s online activity closely. We need to talk to them and equally, we need to listen to them.
Phones and screens need to be taken away at bedtime – no matter how much they kick back. It is in their best interests and someday, they’ll be able to admit that themselves.
Life is a gamble at the best of times, but teenagers need plenty of sleep, face-to-face relationships, positive role models, and fresh air. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.
Louise Flanagan is an admin of Letterkenny Babies Facebook page and the author of the children’s book series, Dragonterra and Dream Beasts. www.dragonterra.ie
Her Parenting column features every Thursday in the Donegal News.
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