Parents are being advised by Counter Terrorism officers to watch for indications that their child might be influenced by extremism following the release of Netflix’s Adolescence.
According to the Met Police’s Prevent co-coordinator, parents should actively monitor their child’s online behavior and be alert to signs of susceptibility to radicalization or involvement in dangerous forms of violent extremism.
This advice comes as concerns grow over the susceptibility of schoolchildren to extreme and radical beliefs, particularly following a storyline in the popular series Adolescence that depicted the online radicalization of 13-year-old Jamie Miller into ‘incel’ ideology.
‘While it’s a fictitious drama, the story is grounded in a reality that we are seeing more and more in our work within Counter Terrorism Policing,’ an officer from the unit said.
Although the idea of your child being interested in this may seem ‘daunting or unsettling’, officers said parents ‘must not be fooled into thinking that this is something that only happens to others’.
Adolescence, which examines so-called incel (involuntary celibate) culture, has prompted a national conversation about online safety.
This week the Prime Minister backed Netflix making the show – which centres around a teenage boy accused of killing a girl from his school – free to stream for all secondary schools across the UK.
But some experts have warned this could be ‘catastrophic’ and spur children on to seek out violent content online, calling it a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction.
Pictured: Owen Cooper as Jamie with Stephen Graham as his father Eddie in Adolescence
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer revealed at Prime Minister’s Questions that he was watching the mini-series with his two teenagers
The four-part show has proven a global phenomenon, being viewed almost 100million times since its release, and sparking a nationwide debate on misogyny and online safety for children.
It depicts the horrifying story of 13-year-old Jamie Miller who stabs his female classmate to death after becoming sucked into the so-called ‘incel’ (involuntary celibate) culture.
Since it aired, it has become a global phenomenon and a topic of national conversation.
The development comes as a win for the Netflix show’s co-writers, Jack Thorne and actor Stephen Graham – who stars as the teen boy’s father – who have said they wanted Adolescence to be a programme that ’causes discussion and makes change’.
Education experts disturbingly claimed that there is a’tsunami’ of British boys turning to misogyny amid an increasing ‘pool of rage’ seething among young male teens.
In a bleak assessment of the nation’s youth, educators say classes are increasingly being threatened by boys with ‘toxic’ views on women, sex and relationships.
So insidious is the so-called ‘manosphere’ culture, male children – some as young as 10 – are openly rebelling against female teachers in classes, it has been claimed.
Now, Met Police Prevent officers have also spoken out on the issue.
Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, who is the Met’s London Prevent Co-ordinator said: ‘The themes and storyline in Adolescence have sparked some incredibly important debate about dangerous rhetoric and ideologies that young schoolchildren can be exposed to through online and social media platforms.
Pictured: Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence
The four-episode programme follows the Miller family, whose lives are torn apart when their 13-year-old son Jamie (pictured, played by Cooper) is arrested for stabbing a female classmate to death after being influenced by online misogyny
In the show, Jamie’s parents were shocked to discover what their son had been drawn into
‘While it’s a fictitious drama, the story is grounded in a reality that we are seeing more and more in our work within Counter Terrorism Policing. Young people are being referred into us, and in almost every instance, a big part of their vulnerability is coming from what they are doing, seeing and consuming online.
‘But it’s actually those who aren’t being referred to us who most concern us. That’s why it is so important that parents and carers are taking an active interest in what their child is doing online – to have those conversations and be aware of the potential warning signs. And if following that, they are still concerned or worried about their child, then it’s really important they reach out for more help as quickly as possible.
‘The Act Early website is an excellent starting place, with tips and guidance on how to have those conversations and some of the warning signs to look out for. And there is also a support line they can call to get advice direct from one of our specialist officers.’
If you are worried about someone, police said to visit the ACT Early website – actearly.uk – or call the Act Early Support Line on 0800 011 3764, in confidence, to speak with specially trained officers.
Recently published figures for terrorism arrests and Prevent referrals show that both 2023 and 2024 were the highest two years on record in terms of the number of children aged 17 or under being arrested for terrorism related offences, with 43 and 39 such arrests respectively.
In 2002, there were only three such arrests and even as recently as 2019, the equivalent figure was as low as 12.
Former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate blasted ‘callous, manipulative and toxic influencers’ for leading young men towards misogyny at the BBC’s annual Richard Dimbleby lecture (pictured)
Andrew Tate has previously been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted
Prevent referral figures paint a similar picture, with almost six out of every ten Prevent referrals in 2023/24 now relating to those aged 17 and under, up from around five in every ten back in 2016/17.
Detective Superintendent Corrigan added: ‘I appreciate that this might seem quite daunting or unsettling for some parents or carers.
‘And while it is still only a very small proportion of young people who may actually be affected, parents must not be fooled into thinking that this is something that only happens to others.
‘We’ve had referrals and provided support through Prevent to a whole range of children, relating to a whole mix of different ideologies.
‘So please, visit the ACT Early website, speak to your child and if you have any concerns at all then trust your instincts and get in touch with us so that we can help – before it might become too late.’
Prevent is the government-led programme which aims to stop vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorism, with police working with other safeguarding agencies to provide the necessary support.
It comes after Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood said parents are ‘crying out for guardrails’ for young people using social media.
Sir Keir meets with Adolescence writer Jack Thorne (right) and Sarah Simpkin (left) from the Children’s Society to discuss the issues raised by the TV series on March 31
Adolescence writer Jack Thorne speaks to the media in Downing Street
Ms Eastwood also said Sir Keir Starmer’s move to show Netflix drama Adolescence in secondary schools shows the Government is ‘out of touch’ and ‘blind to the concerns’.
On Thursday, the MP for Lagan Valley is hosting a backbench debate on the impact of digital platforms on UK democracy.
Ahead of the debate, she said: ‘I think a lot of people have just resigned themselves to some sort of inevitability about this and in actual fact, I think our young people, and certainly those who care for them, whether they’re carers, adults and people that are in and around supporting our young people, mums and dads, guardians. I think they’re crying out for guardrails.’
She added: ‘Certainly not having any protections and no laws and not revisiting the age of consent, I think is completely wrong, because as far as I’m concerned, we know that it’s harmful. It is absolutely harmful. It’s damaging our young people. It’s damaging society.’
Ms Eastwood is currently undertaking legal action against influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate over social media posts made a day after she told the House of Commons she was a ‘survivor of abuse’ and had received rape threats.
Andrew Tate has previously been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.
She said: ‘Even whenever you look at some of the language that certainly followers of the Tates would use in terms of ‘lover boy’ methods and ‘love bombing’ and all that sort of stuff.
‘Young people now are operating in a sphere where it’s a different language, it’s a different way, and most older people would not understand it and if they can’t understand it then they can’t deal with it.
It comes after Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood said parents are ‘crying out for guardrails’ for young people using social media
‘People like me, who are older, who do understand it, who can see it unfolding, and can see the absolute carnage that is resulting in terms of our young people’s lives, are desperate for action, are ringing the bell.
‘If there was a dashboard, every light on it would be red and the Government are just blind to the concerns.’
The Prime Minister backed Netflix making the show available to schools Ms Eastwood said the move shows ‘a Government certainly that are out of touch, but it also shows the Government that are wanting to just close its eyes and ears to this’.
She said: ‘This has been going on for such a long time and that the Government responded by saying, ‘we will allow this programme to be shown in schools’ without any reference to the fact that we need to revisit the age of consent, and so far as digital platform usage, we need to immediately have financial sanctions for these companies that platform this harmful and often criminal content, and absolutely no mention of legislation at all.
‘It’s already clear that the Online Safety Act isn’t robust enough. These companies will only respond to what they understand, and that’s money and that’s cash, and that’s hitting them where it hurts, right in the pocket.’
Ms Eastwood called for additional taxes on ‘tech oligarchs’, which she said the Government were using as a ‘bargaining tool with the US’.
‘Nothing at all can be used to denigrate the rights of our children and young people, and yet that’s exactly what they’re doing,’ she said.
‘Second of all, we need financial sanctions and consequences for these firms and lastly, we need robust legislation, because none of that will be enforceable or policeable without legislation.’
