Misogyny in Social Media: A Review of Netflix’s Adolescence

• juvenile offenders
• forensic evaluation
• gender
• masculinity
• murder

Adolescence is a Netflix miniseries that follows Jamie Miller (played by newcomer Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering his classmate, Katie Leonard. The four-episode arc highlights key moments in Jamie’s case, including his arrest, the police investigation, a forensic evaluation, and his family’s response to the crime. The show’s cinematography has been praised for the use of one continuous shot in each episode without editing to further amplify the tension and weight of the unfolding events.¹ The show focuses on the complex dynamics that led to Jamie’s actions and the role of competing influences on his developing identity and view of masculinity.

Episode three features forensic psychologist, Briony Ariston (played by Erin Doherty of Crown fame), as she conducts the last interview of her forensic evaluation. Through Briony’s questions, she delicately elicits Jamie’s views on masculinity and a confession that ultimately results in escalating outbursts of Jamie’s rage. Erin Doherty’s own therapy experiences informed her portrayal of Briony, and she stated in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, “I was so determined to really highlight the mental agility that is needed for these people to be good at their job and also to portray the emotional exhaustion, the toll that it takes.”² Briony’s evaluation is challenging, as she attempts to build rapport with Jamie while obtaining answers to tough questions like Jamie’s self-perception and views on masculinity, girls, and women.

The show provides an authentic portrayal of forensic examinations, a feat rarely accomplished in Hollywood but masterfully depicted by these creators from the United Kingdom. By using a continuous shot, viewers step into the role of the forensic examiner, experiencing the growing unease and safety concerns firsthand. Briony is depicted as human as she grapples with her own internal responses to Jamie while maintaining a professional approach to her evaluation. The episode concludes with Briony’s reaction to the gravity of the situation, highlighting the emotional challenges forensic evaluators face in their work with violent offenders.

In the first episode, the series reveals Jamie’s role in the crime through video evidence, even as he protests his innocence. This artistic choice is in line with many forensic examinations, as the examiner’s goal is not to prove innocence or guilt but to better understand a defendant’s psychological state. The dramatic tension lies not in whether Jamie did it but in what was going through his mind and all of the contributing factors that led to this horrific outcome.

Gender is a central theme in the show and explored through the characters’ experiences and worldviews. Briony’s challenges as a young female examiner are highlighted through her interactions with Jamie and the security officer that escorts her through the facility. Briony navigates the security officer’s inappropriate and unprofessional comments while she tries to stay focused on her job. Notably, her female gender also affects others’ perception of her abilities, which unfolds through her interactions with Jamie. Furthermore, the show highlights hypermasculine worldviews through Jamie’s character. Jamie is a troubled teenager who has been bullied by Katie over social media. His anger toward Katie has been intensified by Internet radicalization and incel (involuntary celibate) ideology. Incel ideology has become widely known due its link to perpetrators of violent acts around the world that have been highly publicizd through media, such as the cases of Elliot Rodger of Santa Barbara and Alek Minassian of Toronto.³ One of the core tenants of this ideology is the belief that the world is structured based on a hierarchy of attractiveness and that women will never have sex with men deemed unattractive, leaving them involuntarily celibate.^4,5 Although the show focuses on the United Kingdom, these themes and problems are relevant to the United States. A recent New York Times article highlighted this by assessing the intersection of America’s current cultural perception of gender and the political landscape.⁶

The portrayal of the Miller family examined the complexity of human nature and the difficulties of parenting in the digital age. The family examines their own parenting decisions and wrestles with their potential culpability in Jamie’s actions. In the final episode, the Millers struggle to navigate the aftermath of Jamie’s violence, highlighting both their flaws and strengths. The show emphasizes that every family has its own shortcomings and foundations for resilience, making the assignment of blame complex and multifactorial. Jamie’s father, Eddie (played by Stephen Graham), is both angry and loving, but his significant outbursts have resulted in property destruction, exposing his children to frightening displays of rage. As he examines his own anger and parenting skills, Eddie considers his role in Jamie’s violence.

Like many adolescents in the digital age, Jamie spends hours per day online, including engaging with social media. This constant access to social media undermines the control caregivers have over what their children are exposed to. Jamie’s parents, Eddie and Manda (played by Christine Tremarco), consider their role in his unlimited Internet access. They realize that they did not intervene to limit his Internet use and were unaware of the growing influences on Jamie. Many of the students featured in the series were bullied or exposed to radical ideas on the Internet, but the adults in their lives were oblivious. Eddie’s realization that he understood this dangerous situation too late culminates in the heartbreaking moment at the end of the series. He cries while sprawled out in Jamie’s bed, lying over his lone teddy bear saying, “I’m sorry son…I should have done better.”

The show was created to spark a conversation about the dangerous impact of misogynistic ideas in the media on teenage boys and to open pathways for change. Jack Thorne, one of the creators, stated, “I want it to be shown in schools, I want it to be shown in Parliament. It’s crucial because this is only going to get worse.”⁷ Ultimately, Adolescence highlights the vulnerability of adolescents to increasing radicalized views on the Internet and the challenges that caregivers face to protect them. In the current political climate, it is more important than ever for us, as forensic psychiatrists, to help educate the public and the government on the dangers that social media poses for developing minds.

• © 2025 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law