A discussion at UC Education analyzed the series Adolescence.

The activity, organized by the Gender Branch, addressed the risks of digital communities that promote hate speech, and the Challenges for education in the face of digital gender violence.

With broad tripartite participation and great public interest, the discussion was held on May 23 “Incels, social media, and new forms of gender-based violence in adolescence”, organized by the Gender Sub-Directorate of the UC Faculty of Education. The activity addressed the risks of digital communities that promote hate speech, the construction of toxic masculinities, and the challenges these issues pose for educators.

The conversation was inspired by the British miniseries adolescence (2025, Netflix), recently released and widely viewed internationally. Its impact has been such that it has sparked institutional debates in the United Kingdom and has been recommended as a pedagogical tool for addressing gender-based violence in school settings. From this premise, the activity sought to critically consider how these phenomena also affect our own educational realities. 

Adolescent gender-based violence on social media, its roots in misogynistic digital communities, and the role of education

the academic Valentina Errazuriz, a digital education specialist, addressed how social media has become a space for the reproduction of misogynistic discourse among adolescents. She pointed out that phenomena such as hate speech cannot be addressed solely through technology, but rather through a deep understanding of emotions, digital culture, and the social connections that are formed there. 

For her part, Fernanda Rojas, a PhD student in Anthropology at UC, raised the need to analyze the phenomenon of manosphere not just as an individual expression of discontent, but as an organized form of male supremacy that threatens democratic principles. He explained that these communities appeal to emotions of vulnerability that many adolescents experience, and qhuh, If left untreated, they can lead to violent practices. 

During the event, attendees from various departments of the Faculty of Education shared reflections, experiences that impacted them, and questions about how to confront this reality without stigmatizing it and with a pedagogical focus. The urgency of training in affectivity and digital citizenship was emphasized, understanding that the virtual world is not separate from everyday life and that the ways we connect also teach us. 

The discussion is the first of two events in which this series will be used as a pedagogical resource, along with the challenge of developing institutional strategies to prevent digital gender-based violence in schools and universities. 

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