“Women need to be led. They crave a strong, dominant man to guide them,” said Andrew Tate, a famous male misogynist. Using Instagram as an example, within just a few scrolls, users can see something as lighthearted as a birthday celebration of a friend, to then immediately something as serious as the death of hundreds in a genocide. Feeds and “for you” pages are nearly impossible to predict and remain completely uncontrollable, putting users—especially children—consistently at a crucial risk of negative influence. Illustrating this issue into cinema, Netflix recently released the worldwide phenomenon, “Adolescence”. “Adolescence” is a series based in the UK which dives into the consequences of toxic masculinity from everyday online presences to once innocent young boys, ultimately raising debates and creating conversations surrounding the harmful ideologies influencing countless individuals today.

Within just the first episode of the series, audiences follow the accusations of Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy who has been accused of stabbing his fellow classmate Katie Leonard, ultimately leading to her death. Throughout the duration of the four episodes, detectives, Jamie’s parents, and viewers at home are all asking the same question: why did Jamie do it?

“It’s the involuntary celibate stuff. It’s the Andrew Tate shite.” (Adolescence, episode two). With just a simple Google search, anyone can find countless videos of Andrew Tate spreading harmful messages attacking women, and advocating for destructive gender roles. People everywhere are now sparking conversations surrounding the threatening effects that toxic influences can have on children and what can be done about it. On March 31st,  2025, Netflix made the entire series completely available to all secondary schools within the UK through Into Film+, a streaming service specifically designed for schools. Additionally, to help navigate conversations surrounding the series, the schools and parents will also be able to access guides and resources through a charity named “Tender,” which focuses on the importance of healthy relationships with others and ourselves. Due to call to action films like Adolescence, change is finally starting to seem evident. It is time to progress towards a world where toxicity between the relationship of men and women is just another aspect of history, rather than everyday reality.