“Made You Look”: How the Internet Shapes the Teens in “Euphoria”

Please note: This article and television show deals with serious adult topics. Reader discretion is advised.

Things aren’t the way they used to be, with technological advancements affecting the way teens grow up. In episode 3, Jules gets catfished and Kat begins posting inappropriate content online despite being underage.

Jules’ Online Romance:

According to Rue, who isn’t always the most reliable narrator, “Jules was falling in love”. Notice how she never said Jules was in love — rather, she was in the ongoing, slow process. This is because you can’t truly love someone unless you know them enough, and Jules had never seen the face of “Tyler”… or at least, this is what she is led to believe.

Jules meets shyguy118 on the gay hookup app Grindr and agrees to meet up with him in real life. Rue initially responds positively, but after Jules says he wants to meet her in a secluded area at night, she speaks up, asking, “That doesn’t…seem, like, a little weird?” The red flag of meeting where there’s nobody around is not lost on Rue, with alarm bells going off after hearing that concerning piece of info that doesn’t phase Jules one bit. Jules, however, is certain that “Tyler” is her age, which in her mind means there’s less danger (However, she didn’t leave the motel in the first episode when discovering her date was significantly older).

“I’ve been in situations that are way less safe,” Jules argues, referencing this event. After storming off, Rue explains to her later how she cares and doesn’t want to argue. Her feelings for Jules are confirmed without a doubt in the eyes of the audience and revealed to her best friend when she kisses her on the lips.

Unknown to Jules is that “Tyler” is someone she already knows; he happens to be the same guy who threatened her at McKay’s party (Nate Jacobs, the antagonist). This emphasizes the fact that people can trick you on the Internet and aren’t always as they seem. His intentions are revealed in the following episode after the events of the carnival, which I will brush up on in my next Euphoria piece.

The term “catfishing” was coined by the reality TV show Catfish. It refers to the phenomenon of developing feelings for someone who isn’t being honest about their appearance or their identity completely. It’s such a common occurrence, unfortunately, that an entire series was made about it! This is the downside of dating apps; although they can be useful for meeting people, people can tell lies and use pictures that aren’t their own. While people under the age of 18 don’t belong on dating websites and apps, age verification isn’t required to join. Jules is 17, one year away from being a legal adult. Nate’s father tapes his sexual encounters— a question that will be explored later is this: what will happen to that video footage of Jules?

Kat’s Character “Growth”:

Kat can’t afford a single grapefruit in the school cafeteria, showing the audience where she is in terms of financial independence. When she’s offered money for a Skype session immediately after, she gets information about the currency, ending up in a financial relationship involving humiliating a middle-aged man. I had to fast-forward her entire scene with him because it made me so uncomfortable.

Kat changes her look in this episode, developing a different fashion taste, heavier makeup and ditching her glasses. Upon entering school with the hit song “X Gon’ Give it to Ya” playing in the background, her future love interest, Ethan, comments, “You look different.” “I changed,” she says back. Despite seeming more confident after beginning her moneymaking side business as a dominatrix, she is completely dependent on validation as a source of empowerment and becomes disillusioned with boys altogether, calling them “weird, gross and fucking pathetic” to Maddy.

Kat isn’t the only minor entering the world of kink. Many people like her are exposed to NSFW (Not Safe for Work) content at an early age and are taken advantage of. While it seems like Kat has the upper hand by degrading and receiving compensation from this man, she is still reliant on him in terms of money and much younger than him. That’s why that line to Maddy was so significant to Kat’s character arc — she has little experience with the opposite gender so is extremely impressionable, gaining the notion that all men are strange, sad and lustful.

Rue’s Sobriety Arc:

This doesn’t have to do with the article’s theme of the Internet’s impact, but is important to note, regardless. Rue has been clean for two weeks at this point but relapses with pills she takes from Jules’ house. This episode is also where Ali confronts her, who at some point becomes her sponsor because he says later in season 2 that they have this relationship (I’m yet to see the two bonus episodes, so expect this may have been made official then. This also violates the gender-rule that a man can’t sponsor a woman and vice versa, a misleading inaccuracy in the show.) I will evaluate their relationship more when I get to writing about season 2.