The government balked at protecting children from the perils of social media. TV has made the issues plain; now politics must do its job
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said there was a need to tackle the “emerging and growing problem” raised by new TV drama Adolescence. The four-part series co-written and starring actor Stephen Graham, follows a family whose lives are blown apart when their teenage son is arrested for killing a female classmate. Netflix Drama Shines Light on ‘Growing Problem’
The drama released last week shines a light on the corrosive impact of social media and misogynist influencers on some teenage boys. It comes as the former England manager Gareth Southgate spoke out about masculinity and the “manosphere”.
the writer of Adolescence, Jack Thorne, said he and co-writer Graham wanted the programme to be a piece of work that “causes discussion and makes change”. Thorne said: “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.
Keir Starmer said the government was taking steps such as putting in specialist rape and sexual offences teams in police forces across the country dealing with 999 calls. However, he said the issues raised in Adolescence were “a matter of culture” which he said “it’s important across the whole house that we tackle this emerging and growing problem”.