As a neuroscientist studying teenage behaviour — and a mother of two teenage sons — I was both intrigued and apprehensive about watching the Netflix show Adolescence.
The drama follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, whose suspected involvement in a violent crime sparks an investigation into what shaped his alleged actions. As the director puts it, “It’s not a whodunnit, but a whydunnit.”
With its gripping narrative and immersive cinematography, Adolescence offers a compelling exploration into the psychological, social and biological complexities of being a teenage boy today.
But is teenage-typical behaviour really a modern issue? History suggests otherwise. For centuries, society has cast adolescents, and especially adolescent boys, as reckless and impulsive.
More than 2,000 years ago, Socrates said of youth: “They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” Aristotle described youth as “passionate, irascible and apt to be carried away by their impulses … Youth is the age when people are most devoted to their friends …”
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So, there’s nothing new about stereotypical teenage behaviour. What is new is our understanding of the teenage brain and mind.
The teenage brain: a work in progress
In my neurobiology classes during my degree in the 1990s, we were taught that the human brain stops developing in late childhood. This misconception might have arisen because the brain usually reaches its adult size by around age 9. But with advances in brain imaging technology, particularly MRI scans, we now know that, although overall brain size doesn’t change much, the internal composition and wiring of the brain undergoes dramatic development throughout adolescence and into early adulthood.
One of the last brain regions to mature is the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making, impulse control and social understanding. At the same time, the limbic system, which processes emotions and reward, is hypersensitive in early adolescence.
This imbalance between an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex and an overactive limbic system can make young people in early to mid-adolescence (Jamie’s age) prone to impulsive behaviour, reward seeking and risk-taking.
In Adolescence, Jamie’s erratic behaviour and emotional volatility are consistent with the period of brain development that makes it challenging to regulate emotions and consider the consequences of actions. It was poignant that Jamie didn’t seem to fully understand the concept of death.
Friends and peers have a huge influence too. Teenagers are especially sensitive to social rejection, so a lot of their choices revolve around fitting in and avoiding being excluded. This is what we call avoiding social risk — that is, the risk of being left out.
In some cases, avoiding social risk outweighs avoiding other types of risk, such as the potential health or legal consequences of actions. This explains why some young people do things with peers that they wouldn’t do alone, such as trying drugs or carrying a knife. Jamie’s deep feelings of hurt and humiliation after being rejected by a girl may stem from a desire for social acceptance and a fear of losing face.
Adolescence is a period of life in which our sense of self, and particularly our sense of social self, that is how others see us, undergoes a profound transition. As teenagers become more conscious of how others perceive them, they often experience increased self-consciousness and self-criticism.
Social media can amplify this. With every post, like and comment, young people have to navigate a cycle of self-presentation and comparison, shaping their identities based on the curated, filtered lives fed to them by social media algorithms. Young people’s evolving sense of self and what society expects of them are influenced and distorted by what they are exposed to both offline and online.
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Toxic masculinity
Adolescence highlights the dangers of elements of our online world that promote misogyny and unrealistic gender stereotypes, and suggests that these pressures can lead to suppressed emotions and, in some cases, destructive behaviour.
This is a very real concern that needs to be tackled. However, by depicting teenagers as insolent, surly, emotionally suppressed, glued to their phones and so on, the show reinforces tired teenage stereotypes.
The depiction of boys as volatile and impulsive echoes historical perspectives, such as those of Aristotle and Socrates. This narrow portrayal overlooks the diversity of adolescent experiences and presents a school environment and teenage behaviour that deviate significantly from the norm. In reality, most schools are not like the school depicted in Adolescence, and the vast majority of teenagers do not engage in violent behaviour.
That said, some do. Through my work with charities supporting young people who have committed violent crimes, I’ve seen how factors explored in Adolescence, such as chaotic schools, peer influence, harmful social media environments and distant parenting, can all play a role. The rigid gender roles promoted online can shape broader social structures, including schools and other institutions. In Adolescence, a teacher failing to introduce the female inspector to the class is a subtle nod to this.
However, while these factors are important, focusing solely on them overlooks a larger issue. In the UK, most young people involved in violent crime come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have experienced neglect, abuse or early exposure to violence. Addressing the harms of social media is crucial, but it’s also important to acknowledge the deeper systemic factors that contribute to low self-esteem, disenfranchisement and, in some cases, violence.
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A period of heightened neuroplasticity
Neuroscience research has revealed that adolescence is a window of opportunity for learning and growth. During this time, key brain regions, such as the prefrontal cortex, undergoes extensive synaptic pruning, a process that strengthens frequently used connections while eliminating those that go unused. This means that environmental influences, including school, family and peers (both online and offline), play a significant role in shaping the developing adolescent brain.
The adolescent brain is highly adaptable, and with the right support, whether through mentorship, therapy or education, teenagers can develop resilience and healthy coping strategies. Young people can develop resilience through friendships, positive role models, creative outlets or sports.
Adolescence could have explored this perspective, offering a more hopeful message about intervention and rehabilitation in the teenage years. By failing to highlight meaningful interventions, the show risks implying that troubled teenagers are beyond help. This is a misleading message given what we know about brain plasticity and the potential for positive change.
Viewing teenage behaviour through the lens of neuroscience challenges outdated stereotypes. Adolescence isn’t just a phase of reckless defiance, it’s a critical period of brain development that shapes who we become.
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is professor of psychology and cognitive neuroscience, University of Cambridge and author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain
