Psychologist issues scary warning about teenage brains after Netflix’s Adolescence

Netflix’s new crime drama Adolescence has had the whole world hooked, and a psychologist has issued a scary warning – this could happen to any teen across the world.

The show follows a 13-year-old boy called Jamie who murders a female classmate called Katie after he gets influenced by incel culture online.

An incel is a member of an online community of young men who think they are unable to attract women sexually, and often become angry and misogynistic towards women.

Speaking on TikTok, clinical psychologist Dr Amani Samah explained that the way a teenager’s brain develops makes them very vulnerable to this online content.

“The place that Jamie was at 13 years old is a place psychologically and neurologically, a lot is happening,” she said. “In that stage of development, [a teenager] is going through something called identity vs role confusion.”

This is a time when children are trying to figure themselves out in the world away from their parents, and it’s a “new and exciting” period when teenagers want to be “individuals”.

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Psychologist’s break down of Adolescence @Netflix #Adolescence #adolescencenetflix #adolescencereview #psychologistreacts

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During this time, teenagers want to be “accepted” in society, which is why they can be easily influenced by online subcultures that seem like they will boost their reputation.

Due to the way the brain develops during the early teenage years, kids are more likely to “act on impulse” and “do things for social approval” rather than think things through rationally.

The teenage brain also has much more ability to change, which means a child is “more susceptible to finding social reward and taking in information at a quicker rate”.

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When you add social media into the mix, the amount of information a child can take in makes them very vulnerable, and the psychologist said adults need to be more aware of this.

Psychotherapist Claire Law told The Tab that Adolescence has this “quiet way of showing parents what is going on in their own homes” and giving them an “internal jolt” to recognise the signs.

“That little panic that comes when you recognize something—your child’s silence, that eye roll, that defiant look—and realize you’ve seen it before,” she said.

“Not just on screen, but in your kitchen, in your car, in the hallway after school. And suddenly you’re promising yourself to do more, to be more involved, to somehow slow it all down.”

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Featured image by: Netflix