She ungruntingly graced us with her presence throughout, and even shared her toddler-sister’s abandoned blanket with me, to wipe our tears after episode four 😢

At times, it was a very uncomfortable watch, but it’s prompted some fantastic conversations in our house, and it sounds like there’s some healthy discussions going on at school and with friends too - all good stuff. 

When I wrote an essay on social media platforms and how they were changing when I did my Media Studies A-Level nearly 20 years ago (sob), it was all relatively new, and felt life changing. But social media was for fun, you didn’t mind switching off when Mum needed to make a phone call on the landline... It wasn’t a constant, it didn’t feel threatening and it CERTAINLY wasn’t a legitimate career path.

My Mum is a retired window dresser. She wouldn’t know TikTok if it bit her on the arse. I’m a digital marketer, keeping a constant eye on a number of channels is a huge part of what I do. Makes it somewhat tricky to preach about the dangers of overexposure to social media when keeping on top of the bloody platforms pay our mortgage, though. All my Mum’s job gave me was an irrational fear of mannequins, what the hell am I setting my girls up for?!?

Seeking validation online is something we’re all guilty of - professionally and personally. Programmes like Adolescence shine a harsh light on the dangers we face when online validation overtakes the real world - anything that sparks conversations about that is helpful I think.

I’ll jump off my hypocritical soapbox now, and go and start booting teenagers up the bum to get homework finished! 🥴