Tonight I binged the TV show Adolescence. The affect is has had on me is profound.

NOTE: May Contain Spoilers

There are two levels to how scenarios like the one Jamie (main character in the show) plays out. Covert, and Overt.

Overt is the conscious, willful following of the ideologies of Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, 4Chan incel posting and the likes. They are the actions taken from buildup of the Covert.

Covert is much more malignant. The buildup, the drivers, and those feeding into those systems create a mental (and physical) environment that breeds hatred subliminally, subconsciously, until it rears it’s infectious head in an Overt form. But what is it actually, and how does it work?

These covert systems target boys of school/university age. Roughly 12-25 in my experience. It targets lonely and bullied boys through targeted social media feeds (algorithms feeding most interacted content) that builds off insecurity. The Manosphere tells them they need to be X type of man, you must be able to beat someone up, get as many women as possible, don’t go to university because its a lie, and that the only way to Become A Real Man is take my online course! The affected aren’t aware of their grooming, which it is. They see the environment around them, and compare it to who they perceive as ‘strong’ and ‘manly’ (which by clever optics, steroids, soundtracks, posing models, etc, seems pretty convincing) and follow exactly what they’re told. By promising money, women, power, and importance, they manipulate these young boys into hating women and accepting violence.

Who benefits from this? The easy answer is those who sell courses on the topic and make a buck. The more complicated answer is the right wing (reich wing) political structures that preach misogyny and hatred. What rights can’t you strip from a group of people when huge numbers of people back you up? The power this gives to the Reich Wing is incredible. And throughout the last few years we’ve seen it try to happen. In Canada a few years ago, the Conservative Party of Canada (wannabe fascist American cosplayers) tried to strip women of their right to abortions in Canada. Many young boys and men approved. The push was quickly struck down, but the intent became clear to all. The Reich Wing is here to take your rights, and will do anything to anyone to get it. In this case it was women and their right to choose what happens with their body. And the anything to do it included grooming our children.

The TV show Adolescence reminded me of me. I was a scrawny, bullied kid. My formative years have an impact on my self esteem and habits daily, and I am aware of that. During Covid I was isolated, a perfect target, and the social media algorithms (which promoted this content because it’s owners fall into the Donor Class of the Reich Wing) went into full force to pull me into the Manosphere pipeline. Fortunately for me, by skepticism and critical thinking skills (along with some other things which I’ll get to) kept me away from the Overt. But there was still content that got me with my guard down, or without detection. I always kind of knew it was all bullshit, but it never really sunk in how malignant and intentional the pipeline is.

Loneliness is powerful. Humans desire for connection. When said scrawny and lonely boys are offered a part of a pack, sprinkled in with prestige, money, women, and power, the effects are drug-like and hypnotizing. Without proper screening or thought (which is often the case) the targeted grooming is effective. How did this not catch me? I think it was because of my family, at the end of the day. No one told me of these dangers, I discovered them myself. We as a society need to teach our young boys and men that they are not alone, and that hatred and bigotry is not the way of life or prosperity. The hatred bred against women affects real people, your mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, family friends, every female you have ever met. Would you say and act those ways to them?

The TV shows’ level of cinematic craftsmanship is incredible. The show won like a dozen Emmy’s or something. Every episode is shot in one take, there are no breaks. The emotion is palpable through the screen. And at the end, the path to the actions taken of the main character is obvious. But this isn’t fiction. Femicide is on the rise in Canada and internationally. Hatred online against women has really never been so prevalent. And this all ties in with the rise of general hate online, the grand plan of the Reich Wing, and the increasing level of influence the algorithms have on our subconscious.

So what does this all really mean, and what do we do about it? It means that there are forces behind the screen (pun intended), trying to manipulate our children for their own goals. What can we do about it? Regulate age access to social media. Create more opportunities for in-person relationship cultivation. Talk to your children. Build relationships with them.

Show them that they are not alone.