Adolescence viewer spots tiny detail in episode that shows how life has changed for teenagers

Anyone who has tuned into Adolescence is well aware that the series shines a damning spotlight on the issues affecting teenagers in the 21st century.

The chilling plot centres on the detriment that dark corners of the internet are having on kids these days, which many parents were previously in the dark about.

The four-part Netflix series, which made it's debut on 13 March, has plenty of subtle nuances for viewers to pick apart, as well as more obvious messages too.

Now, one viewer has claimed that he has clocked onto something in the second episode of Adolescence that 'no one noticed', which exhibits just how different life is for teens these days.

Content creator Dreezy Dem, from Manchester, shared a video to TikTok explaining that he believes one specific prop was used excessively to emphasise this point too.

And according to the YouTuber, it's evident from the moment that DI Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) and DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay) step foot on the school playground.

The detectives head to talk to Jamie Miller's (Owen Cooper) fellow pupils after he is arrested for the murder of schoolgirl Katie, in the hopes of finding some more clues.

But before one of the student's makes a sharp exit through the classroom window to escape the police, Dreezy says he spotted something else going down in the show.

In the short clip he shared on social media, he said: "No one noticed this in episode two on Adolescence, but I did."

He told people that while tuning into the second instalment, he spotted that pretty much all of the schoolchildren in the back of the shots were clutching a mobile phone.

Viewers might remember that the teachers are constantly telling the youngsters to 'put their phones away' throughout the 50 minute episode.

Although we all know a lot of the plot in Adolescence hinges on the good, the bad and the ugly parts of social media, Dreezy reckons the amount of kids clutching devices has a 'deeper meaning'.

It seems he thinks this mobile phone detail hammers home just how hooked kids are when it comes to devices, as he counted up to 17 schoolchildren with them in their hands.

"That scene is basically four minutes and 39 seconds of just kids holding their phones in the school," Dreezy said. "This is a deeper meaning."

Despite some people saying he was stating the obvious, others praised the TikToker's hot take.

One said: "Unpopular opinion but phones should be banned from school," while another wrote: "It was the main point, social media has caused so many issues for young people."

A third commented: "Mad that this is what the kids do these days, its all about phones, socials, etc. I'm so glad I was brought up in the 80s and 90s, was never like today."

A fourth added: "This is the point. This whole series is based on what events are like at the moment. Kids are having tablets or phones shoved in their faces literally from birth."

Even UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been binge-watching Adolescence like the rest of us.

He branded the violence carried out by teens who are influenced by what they see online 'abhorrent', while saying the country has 'to tackle it'.

Jack Thorne, who wrote the series alongside Liverpudlian star Stephen Graham, said he hoped Adolescence 'causes discussion and makes change'.

"I want it to be shown in schools, I want it to be shown in Parliament," he said. "It's crucial because this is only going to get worse."