SENT ON BEHALF OF MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL:-

GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS IN RELATION TO THE NETFLIX'S DRAMA ADOLESCENCE:-

The Netflix mini series, Adolescence, has highlighted, perhaps for the first time to many, the growing concerns around Incels and the wider threat to young men online. There are a growing number of cases documented of young people being targeted in the online space and through gaming platforms. It is a common misconception that this only occurs in the dark Web, with mainstream platforms like Discord and games like Roblox and others being used to directly target young people online. Influencers that use hate speech to create harmful narratives, like Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson, have incredible reach in the online space and we need a collective, community level, response to counter their harmful messages. We have an opportunity to use this new curiosity to increase awareness and help parents have some difficult but necessary conversations with their children. The attached, created in response to the program, provides a guide to parents about the threat and will help them start conversations with their children. Please feel free to circulate this to your distribution lists and social media platforms. We need to maximise the opportunity the Netflix drama's harrowing message provides to keep our children and young people safe. Further information is also provided by the Kent and Medway Prevent Team via https://www.kscmp.org.uk/procedures/prevent