Topic - Talks and Lectures
Join us for a unique interdisciplinary focus into the cultural phenomenon of the Netflix series Adolescence, the critically acclaimed TV drama that has sparked conversation across the nation.
In this compelling online event, academics from the University of Sunderland will bring their expert lenses to focus on the series that has captivated viewers and challenged perceptions. Together, they'll explore how Adolescence portrays the complex intersections of youth identity, societal pressure, and institutional response.
Featuring sessions from:
- Criminology – Exploring how the series highlights the rise of online abuse and violence against women and girls, looking at where it stems from and how criminal justice systems can respond
- Psychology – Examining how Adolescence portrays incels, comparing the series’ depiction with psychological research on the causes, beliefs and mental health issues behind this subculture
- Film & Media Studies – Analysing how the creators of this drama use clever filming techniques to create a heightened sense of immediacy and continuity, giving an unbroken, real-time experience for viewers and how audiences, media commentators and policy makers have responded
Expect an insightful analysis and the opportunity to ask questions as we dig deeper into the themes of Adolescence — the series that got everyone talking.
For a detailed breakdown of what to expect from each discipline, please see below for further information.
Criminology
Join Dr Lauren Doyle as she explores how the Netflix series Adolescence has caused widespread concern surrounding the rapid growth of technology-facilitated violence, particularly that of a misogynistic nature that targets women and girls.
The weaponisation of harm directed towards women and girls in the modern world has seen a blurring of the boundaries between ‘harms’ in digital and physical spaces, which can lead to women feeling unsafe in public and private spaces. According to UN Women (2025), 58% of women and young girls have experienced some form of harassment or abuse online, aligning (but not wholly caused by) the growth of the manosphere and the display of symbolic violence across social media. This session will address the Violence Against Women (VAWG) epidemic in relation to the criminological understanding of violence, where it stems from and the means of addressing this within modern day criminal justice. This will include addressing the ‘harms’ of VAWG as well as the criminalised behaviours that constitute as violence, harassment and hate.
Psychology
Dr Mark Ord will examine how Adolescence has captured the attention of the public and political world. For many people it represents their first introduction to the manosphere and incels. It also serves as a primary source of information about who incels are and how they behave, despite the programme being highly dramatised fiction. In this session we will contrast what the show asserts about incels with what the science tells us about the causes of inceldom, who they are, and what they believe. As we do this we will touch upon the evolution of behaviour, the role of social media, and the mental health crisis that underpins the rise of incel culture.
Film and Media Studies
Join Dr Barbara Sadler for Encoding and Decoding Adolescence. Stuart Hall’s ‘encoding and decoding’ theory helps describe how media producers encode meaning into their media texts at point of production and how various audiences decode meaning at point of reception. This talk will include a brief analysis of the production and reception of the show and a consideration of how policy makers and the mainstream media outlets have used the show to further their own purposes.
For any questions, please email student.recruitment@sunderland.ac.uk.