From Incels to Isolation: What Adolescence Got Right About Today’s Teens

I know I may be a little late to the bandwagon, but I recently watched “Adolescence”—and I’m honestly glad I did it at my own pace. Beyond the brilliance of the show itself, what struck me more was the range of reactions it sparked among people from different age groups and genders.

Here’s my (possibly controversial) take: the show didn’t necessarily portray anything new—at least not for millennials and Gen Z. If anything, it highlighted a dark reality we’ve quietly known for a while. The disturbing part is how familiar it all felt. The kid in the show may be Gen Alpha, but the behavioral patterns and emotional turmoil? They’ve been brewing across generations.

I get why older generations were shaken. For many of them, the internet is still this evolving space—an open field they’re only now beginning to navigate, sometimes stumbling upon things that seem increasingly horrific.

The Echo Chamber Effect

One term that came up repeatedly in the show and the discussions around it was “incel.” I didn’t fully grasp it either until I started researching, which led me down a disturbing rabbit hole—Andrew Tate’s worldview, the 80-20 dating theory, and other skewed ideologies that thrive online.

But here’s the harsh truth: these patterns existed long before TikTok, Instagram, or Discord. I’ve known people—especially men—who were bullied, alienated, and consumed by anger even before the social media era. What’s changed is the reach and reinforcement.

Social media has simply become an amplifier. The echo chamber isn’t just a digital glitch—it’s a deeply human one. We surround ourselves with ideas, friends, and content that validate us—even if those validations are harmful. At that age, it’s incredibly hard to break out of that bubble. I often wonder: Is the algorithm to blame, or is it just mirroring a society that doesn’t pause to question its own beliefs?

Personally, I’ve caught myself curating my feed to protect my own mental peace—but even that becomes a kind of echo chamber. It’s not just teens. We all do it.

The Parent Paradigm

This is where generational gaps hit the hardest. With work stress, tech fatigue, and increasingly complex lives, we’re drifting away from open, real conversations at home.

I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where I could turn to my parents first—be it for good news or a personal crisis. That foundation helped me make clearer distinctions in life: who to hang out with, when to walk away. But not everyone has that privilege. The show made that painfully evident.

We talk about building safer environments for children—in homes, in schools—but how often do we follow through after the headlines fade? If we can’t always rely on human interventions, could tech help in a more empathetic way? Could something like an anonymous AI-powered journal exist—where kids can freely express themselves, and the system flags real threats to nearby authorities before it's too late?

Final Thought

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to the psychological and societal complexities we’re seeing unfold—whether online or offline. But if there’s one takeaway, it’s this: silence, shame, and isolation are still winning far too often. Whether it’s a parent too busy to notice, a child too afraid to speak up, or an algorithm feeding vulnerability disguised as engagement—we’re caught in a loop that desperately needs breaking.

Maybe the solution isn’t radical. Maybe it’s just more honest conversations. A little more listening. A little less judgment. And building spaces—online or IRL—where young people don’t feel like they have to scream just to be heard.

Because if we don’t pause to truly understand what adolescence looks like now, we may just keep missing the signs—until it’s too late.