[TV] Adolescence - Netflix 4 part drama written by and starring Stephen Graham

[The Pilsbury Echo]

WOW!!!
An amazing piece of TV which had me captivated from first minute to last. The last 3mins of the production was sooooo powerful it made this grown man of 58years, with the good lady and one of my sons of 27yrs old grizzle for a good few minutes. Once we had composed ourselves we talked for over an hour about what we had just watched. I firmly believe that it will open up conversations that people felt they would never have but now feel compelled to have. The lake ripple effect was evident from very early on in the first episode to the very last minute.
Working in a primary school for 18 years has been an absolute joy to date but by christ its getting tougher week to week. I take my hat off to people that work in Secondary school education because you guys have to deal with so much more than primary settings. Even at their tender age though children have to deal with alot, some more than others granted but for the majority they all have one thing in common. Parent/parents... Parenting is a hard job and as a father of two and a step father of another five believe me I've found it tough at times and regret some of the parenting choices I made but thankfully all Seven are now all over the age of 22 and getting on and enjoying life. Unfortunately parenting doesn't seem to be what it was but watching this, no matter how hard hitting it is, will hopefully make people think about how to parent in the future.
Adolescence covers so much in 4hrs and not just from the point of parenting but definitely gets a message across and if you've watched it then I bet in nearly all of us it made us reflect on either our up bringing, parenting or society as it is today. For me it will be the message that I have banged on about for the last 18 years at school. Choices have consequences, good or bad.
Did I enjoy the series? Definitely...

 

[Justice]

I think what compounds the issue is that if kids are having problems at school, they can't leave it at school because it is constantly there through social media – directly or indirectly. And they have access to countless voices that will mould their views on life, relationships and the wider world. That's a bit different from watching one of four TV channels (five for all the noobs) and the radio.

This kid tried to bully me at school trust me it doesn’t end when you get home and that was the 80’s, I thought long and hard how to solve the problem and came to the conclusion violence.
Basically I battered him with a tennis racket and was quite surprised he started blabbing like a baby. No other kid who fancied themselves dared to even look in my direction after that which was handy.

Don’t be fooled it’s a problem that ended after school back in the day that’s simply not true.

 

[bluenitsuj]

And ripped into by other kids for having a £9.99 burner phone.

The other kids are the problem. Kids today.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

This kid tried to bully me at school trust me it doesn’t end when you get home and that was the 80’s, I thought long and hard how to solve the problem and came to the conclusion violence.
Basically I battered him with a tennis racket and was quite surprised he started blabbing like a baby. No other kid who fancied themselves dared to even look in my direction after that which was handy.

Don’t be fooled it’s a problem that ended after school back in the day that’s simply not true.

That's fair enough - and I'm sorry you had to go through what you did. I facking hate bullying and generally people being mean to each other. And, like you say, often standing up to the bullying helps.

What I guess I was trying to say was that problems are more in your face now. Messaging, group chats and unwanted attention is very difficult to avoid because everyone has a device and people are glued to them (he says, typing this on a phone). And issues can escalate very quickly when people goad each other into being bigger dicks than they already were.

 

[Justice]

That's fair enough - and I'm sorry you had to go through what you did. I facking hate bullying and generally people being mean to each other. And, like you say, often standing up to the bullying helps.

What I guess I was trying to say was that problems are more in your face now. Messaging, group chats and unwanted attention is very difficult to avoid because everyone has a device and people are glued to them (he says, typing this on a phone). And issues can escalate very quickly when people goad each other into being bigger dicks than they already were.

Thanks bud, I hate bullies and when I see it happening I want to step in although will I make it worse for the kid, probably.

 

[Justice]

The other kids are the problem. Kids today.

Not just kids the world is changing society is broken.

 

[Berty23]

That's fair enough - and I'm sorry you had to go through what you did. I facking hate bullying and generally people being mean to each other. And, like you say, often standing up to the bullying helps.

What I guess I was trying to say was that problems are more in your face now. Messaging, group chats and unwanted attention is very difficult to avoid because everyone has a device and people are glued to them (he says, typing this on a phone). And issues can escalate very quickly when people goad each other into being bigger dicks than they already were.

I agree with this. It is not just bullying it is the smaller stuff which becomes big. When I was at secondary school in the 90s little incidents were just forgotten as everyone went home and slept on it and it was gone the next day. Now the constant connectivity means everything gets analysed on groups and social media which stokes fires. So nothing incidents become bigger. It is written down and shared. Basically it amplifies everything.

 

[Swimboy64]

Sure. That was the defining characteristic of that hour of TV

Is it a characteristic?

 

[Is it PotG?]

Some of these comments show how things have changed.
Back in my day, any bullying was dealt with via a playground punch up and move on.
A guy called Alec Wilson had three decent goes, I think it ended up 2-1.
So much easier then, social media makes it far tougher to sort out.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Basically I battered him with a tennis racket and was quite surprised he started blabbing like a baby.

Serves him right

 

[Justice]

Serves him right

Had some juice afterwards

 

[SicilianHungary]

I watched it one go yesterday and enjoyed it a lot, but thought the last episode was the weakest of the lot.

If I remember rightly, of my age smartphones only became a thing in the last two years of school or so, and while social media was a thing (Bebo and MySpace as opposed to Facebook and Instagram) I don’t think it was anywhere near as toxic as it is now.

Although I’m aware of incels and that sort of thing, I didn’t really think it could apply to 13-year-olds as it shouldn’t be a thing to be having sex at that age, I felt that they covered that in the third episode where Jamie said at most touching and kissing was appropriate. But then I’ve never had much success in dating or relationships at any point so could be a bit out of touch with it.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Had some juice afterwards

Love

 

[Justice]

I was more interested in fishing and football at 13, these kids need hobbies.

 

[BN9 BHA]

I was more interested in fishing and football at 13, these kids need hobbies.

I had plenty of hobbies at that age.

I have got 2 sons 27 and 21 years old, they are both good lads as they did sports and cubs / scouts from a young age, also took them to the Albion when they were little.
We did put in the effort running them around and i sometimes didn’t see much of my wife on a Sunday if they were playing for different football or cricket teams.
Both still have hobbies and play sports.

 

[Justice]

I had plenty of hobbies at that age.

I have got 2 sons 27 and 21 years old, they are both good lads as they did sports and cubs / scouts from a young age, also took them to the Albion when they were little.
We did put in the effort running them around and i sometimes didn’t see much of my wife on a Sunday if they were playing for different football or cricket teams.
Both still have hobbies and play sports.

That’s good mate. Do any of them have interest in being a plumber? The only one of mine that went on jobs was my daughter both sons not interested, she can install sockets lights, I was just getting her into fusboards when she left for uni.

 

[BN9 BHA]

That’s good mate. Do any of them have interest in being a plumber? The only one of mine that went on jobs was my daughter both sons not interested, she can install sockets lights, I was just getting her into fusboards when she left for uni.

My oldest lad showed no interest in plumbing but now works for Southern Water, not as a plumber though but still dealing with water leaks.
My youngest helped me on jobs during the holidays when he was doing A levels at college, he’s very practical and a quick learner, would make a good plumber.
He’s at University now and doing well, I didn’t encourage him to work with me as I’m happy he’s enjoying himself and will graduate this year and he’s then doing his masters (gets his brains from my wife)

 

[Drebin]

I watched it pretty much in one go. It is a brilliant, and more than that, important piece of television.

I’m a secondary school teacher and see signs of this kind of behavior quite often. I have pupils in my form group that show some dominant behavior patterns that pop up on tik tok. I have pupils that go into town and take pills after finding dealers very easily on snap chat (on weekday nights). It takes one emoji. I have pupils that fight and can’t let it go, because it is talked about and analyzed for long time afterwards on social media, mainly with the purpose of ridiculing and humiliating whoever came out worse. I have pupils that get frozen out not just by their friends, but by half the year group, because they are suspected of telling an adult when there’s alcohol at a party.

The digital world adults have let the generation portrayed in the program create can be ruthless and cruel. Quite often parents don’t have a clue.

At the school I work at, we see antisocial behavior because the social punishment from the peer group is far worse than any punishment we can give.

The difference between my (and i suspect others on here) generation is that we had more hobbies and available activities that most could afford. We had youth club, roller booting, football, and other after school clubs the teachers at my school organized. It was just 20/50p in the pot and you were in. I’m not sure the youngest get these opportunities to be social in person any more.

It has been proposed to show it in schools, but it is the parents that need to watch it. My daughter’s (15) school called all the parents in to a meeting a couple of weeks ago, just to inform them of what was happening on social media.

More of that please.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

I don't think it helps when prostitution / onlyfans is being normalised at the same time people like Tate are getting bashed, you've got Bonnie Blue on This Morning glorifying shagging over 1000 blokes in 12 hours, society is in a dark hole..

 

[The Pilsbury Echo]

I watched it pretty much in one go. It is a brilliant, and more than that, important piece of television.

I’m a secondary school teacher and see signs of this kind of behavior quite often. I have pupils in my form group that show some dominant behavior patterns that pop up on tik tok. I have pupils that go into town and take pills after finding dealers very easily on snap chat (on weekday nights). It takes one emoji. I have pupils that fight and can’t let it go, because it is talked about and analyzed for long time afterwards on social media, mainly with the purpose of ridiculing and humiliating whoever came out worse. I have pupils that get frozen out not just by their friends, but by half the year group, because they are suspected of telling an adult when there’s alcohol at a party.

The digital world adults have let the generation portrayed in the program create can be ruthless and cruel. Quite often parents don’t have a clue.

At the school I work at, we see antisocial behavior because the social punishment from the peer group is far worse than any punishment we can give.

The difference between my (and i suspect others on here) generation is that we had more hobbies and available activities that most could afford. We had youth club, roller booting, football, and other after school clubs the teachers at my school organized. It was just 20/50p in the pot and you were in. I’m not sure the youngest get these opportunities to be social in person any more.

It has been proposed to show it in schools, but it is the parents that need to watch it. My daughter’s (15) school called all the parents in to a meeting a couple of weeks ago, just to inform them of what was happening on social media.

More of that please.

Agree with alot of this.

If the government were to ban phones for all children in primary and secondary schools it would go half way to making school life easier for alot of kids. The children may not like the idea but most of them would probably be the bullies themselves. Majority of children's phones are paid for by parents so fine the parents and exclude the child from school. Parents may then think twice about allowing their child a phone in school. If there really worried about them b4 and after school then that's a conversation for them. Let teachers educate and parents be Role models. But will never happen!