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If Adolescence Left You Uneasy, You’re Not Alone — And That Might Be a Good Thing
The UK series Adolescence has struck a nerve — especially with parents, carers, and educators asking some big questions about gender, influence, and what’s really going on for young people today. While the show shines a powerful light on boys and modern masculinity, it leaves an important question hanging: what about the girls sharing these same spaces?
March 25, 2025
If you’ve just finished watching Adolescence with a knot in your stomach and a lot of questions, you’re not the only one. The UK drama series has resonated with viewers all over the world — not just because it’s intense and raw, but because it reflects challenges many of us recognise.
For parents, carers, and educators, it’s prompted some important (and uncomfortable) reflections: Are we keeping up? Are our girls being heard? Are our boys okay?
But while Adolescence gives voice to the male experience, there’s a noticeable gap in the story.
What About Her Experience?
The show follows the journey of a teenage boy trying to find his footing amid social norms and an overwhelming online world. It captures this with care. But what about the girls sharing these spaces? The ones affected by the ripple effects of behaviour shaped by online influencers and outdated beliefs?
They’re not on the sidelines of this story — they’re living it too. Often quietly, and often without the help or recognition they need.
Girls today are navigating a world that tells them to speak up while making it harder to be taken seriously. They're expected to stay resilient in environments where subtle digs, exclusion, and inappropriate comments are brushed off as normal. And too often, they're managing this without a safe place to unpack how it makes them feel.
We can’t talk about boys’ struggles without also addressing the reality for girls who share their spaces — at school, online, and at home. These experiences are linked. They both matter.
The Impact Behind the Scenes
Recent research from Tomorrow Woman paints a clear picture:
- 42% of high school girls say their male classmates are influenced by figures like Andrew Tate.
- 31% say they’re directly affected — through dismissive attitudes, disrespectful comments, or uneasy group dynamics.
- 24% say they feel unsafe at school because of this.
- 1 in 10 have gone so far as to carry something to protect themselves.
- 22% have faced physical abuse, and 21% have experienced sexual abuse from peers influenced by this content.
These numbers aren’t just worrying — they’re urgent. Behind every stat is a young person whose education, safety, and self-worth are being compromised.
This isn’t just about personal discomfort — it’s about safety. About school being a space where young people are supposed to feel supported, not targeted. About the long-term impacts that come from being silenced or made to feel invisible.
What the Show Highlights
In a recent interview with Marie Claire Australia, Tomorrow Woman cofounder and CEO Paige Campbell unpacked the broader cultural issues behind the show's storyline. She explained that the manosphere’s influence isn’t just an online trend — it’s a deeper structural issue that’s shaping how young people relate, especially in schools. Girls are navigating spaces affected by this ideology daily, and shows like Adolescence, she noted, give us a confronting yet important lens to explore that reality.
The Marie Claire article explores this further, spotlighting how gender dynamics, online subcultures, and real-world consequences are deeply intertwined. And adds necessary context to what’s playing out onscreen. You can check it out here.
That said, Adolescence does a lot right. It gives a confronting, honest look into how some young boys are processing modern masculinity. It shines a light on confusion, isolation, and the online echo chambers many fall into when they feel disconnected or unseen.
It also helps explain how young men can end up influenced by harmful ideologies, often without fully understanding what they’re buying into.
But as viewers, we have to ask:
But who else is in this story?
And how are they affected?
Because understanding one experience doesn't mean sidelining another. We need space for both. Maybe that’s the bigger takeaway — not just to watch, but to question. To dig deeper. To hold space for everyone’s story.
Where to From Here?
Let’s take what Adolescence offers and use it to keep moving forward.
We’re not helpless in this. We have influence — in the questions we ask, the boundaries we set, the conversations we’re willing to have.
If you're a parent or carer:
- Watch or read about the show with your teen. Ask open questions: What stood out? What felt familiar or uncomfortable?
- Be curious about their online world. Who do they follow? What do they enjoy? What worries them?
- Notice changes. Are they withdrawing? Using new language? Becoming more guarded?
- Model respect and care. In your own relationships, online and off. Kids notice more than we think.
- Keep talking. About consent, respect, online behaviour, and what to do when things don’t feel right.
- Talk about gender and power. Especially when it’s uncomfortable. That’s often when it matters most.
If you're an educator:
- Create safe spaces for conversations. Use the show (or just its themes) to explore gender, identity, and online influence.
- Stay in the loop. Harmful content can be subtle. Jokes, memes, slang — it’s not always obvious.
- Speak up. When something crosses the line, name it. Early intervention makes a difference.
- Build classrooms where all students feel seen and heard. It matters more than you know.
- Work together. This isn’t just a school issue or a parent issue. It takes a village — and sometimes that village needs a group chat, a PD session, and a bit of courage.
This Isn’t Just a British Thing
No matter where you live, young people are growing up in the same digital landscape. The content they consume, the voices they follow, and the messages they’re exposed to aren’t bound by location, they’re global, constant, and shaping how teens see themselves and each other.
That’s why this matters everywhere.
And while not every child is being pulled into extreme corners of the internet, many are encountering the ideas. Some are confused. Some are influenced. And some are being hurt by the fallout.
The internet doesn’t draw a line between ‘real life’ and ‘online influence’ — so neither can we.
We need to stay present. Pay attention. And hold the space for conversations that might be awkward, emotional, or challenging.
Even if your child or student isn’t directly involved, they’re still witnessing it. Still forming beliefs around it. Still being shaped by the culture around them.
Need a Starting Point?
Tomorrow Woman and Tomorrow Man have created a free guide: Helping Your Teen Safely Navigate Their Online World. It offers grounded advice on how to:
- Approach tricky conversations without fear
- Help teens question what they see online
- Recognise red flags like withdrawal or secrecy
- Build healthy digital habits at home
Including recommendations like keeping devices out of bedrooms overnight — something health experts strongly support.
This isn’t about being the perfect parent or educator. It’s about being present. Being real. And being willing to learn alongside the young people in your life.
Download your free guide, Helping Your Teen Safely Navigate Their Online World, created by our brother organisation, Tomorrow Man.
One Line That Sticks
The final episode of Adolescence ends with a line that hits hard: “We should have done more.”
It’s confronting because it feels true.
But that doesn’t mean it’s too late.
We can still show up. Keep talking. Keep listening. And take action in the spaces where it counts — not just with our daughters, but with our sons too.
It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about staying open.
If Adolescence got under your skin — good. That’s where awareness starts. And from there, change.
Let’s keep going. Let’s keep talking. Let’s keep showing up — even when it’s hard.
Because when we do, we give our young people the chance to do the same.
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