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THE HIT NETFLIX series Adolescence has been made free to watch in UK schools but there are no such plans in the works for Ireland.
The show is about a 13-year-old boy who is arrested for allegedly murdering a female schoolmate.
The series examines so-called incel (involuntary celibate) culture and has prompted a national conversation in both the UK and Ireland about online safety.
Yesterday, Netflix announced that the series would be made free to watch for all secondary schools in the UK through the charity Into Film+, which is a free streaming service for UK schools.
However, Netflix currently has no plans to make it free to view in Irish schools.
A spokesperson said that because Into Film+ is not available in Ireland, Adolescence is currently not available to stream for free in schools.
Meanwhile, in addition to making the series free to watch in UK schools, healthy relationships charity Tender will produce guides and resources for teachers, parents and carers to help navigate conversations around it.
The announcement followed a roundtable discussion convened by the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, with representatives from Tender, as well as Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne and producers Emma Feller and Jo Johnson.
Starmer said that he had watched the show with his teenage son and daughter and added: “I can tell you, it hit home hard.”
He described it as an “important initiative to encourage as many pupils as possible to watch the show”.
The challenges raised by Adolescence aren't something we can simply legislate for — if I could pull a lever to solve it, I would.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 31, 2025
It's only by listening and learning from the experiences of young people and charities that we can tackle this.
That's what I've been doing today. pic.twitter.com/bU5ocwpa1T
“As I see from my own children, openly talking about changes in how they communicate, the content they’re seeing, and exploring the conversations they’re having with their peers is vital if we are to properly support them in navigating contemporary challenges, and deal with malign influences,” said Starmer.
“This isn’t a challenge politicians can simply legislate for. Believe me, if I could pull a lever to solve it, I would.
“Only by listening and learning from the experiences of young people and charities can we tackle the issues this groundbreaking show raises.”
Starmer added that the online world and social media means “ideology” can be “pumped directly into the minds of our children”.
Here at home, Tánaiste Simon Harris recently described Adolescence as a “powerful insight into how toxic influencers and social media are poisoning young men’s views and identities”.
Harris went on to voice concern about social media and the impacts of “so-called influencers” such as Conor McGregor and Andrew Tate who are “providing a warped view of what it is to be a man”.
“Let me be clear, the likes of Conor McGregor and Andrew Tate should not be social media influencers, they should be social pariahs.
“Their behaviour is wrong, it’s retrograde, it’s degrading, it’s damaging, they’re normalising behaviour that is totally and utterly unacceptable.”
Harris added that Adolescence should be “compulsory viewing” in secondary school.
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