"Real Parents, Real Questions"

15 May 2025

82s

Parental guidance.

Directed by Tom Barbor-Might and lensed by Jim Joliffe, this Ofcom ad reflects the post-'Adolescence' world we now live in. As parents reckon with the manosphere and other forms of harmful content highlighted by the show, the commercial centres around questions put to social media companies by mums and dads shaken to the core, unsure what to do next.

It's one tense inquiry after the other: "My son's into gaming and football, so why are you showing him content that tells him to hate and mistreat women?" "Why did you let people share nudes of my fourteen-year-old daughter?" "Why are you allowing your platform to be a playground for paedophiles?" By the end, these questions become a cacophony that's led to the Online Safety Act.

The regulator for communications services promises hefty fines "or other penalties" for platforms that fail users. Real-life tragedies like the death of Molly Russell and fictional ones like those depicted in 'Adolescence' underline what's at stake for the parents heard here.

UK

Government Departments