When was the last time a piece of content stopped you in your tracks? Made you sit with uncomfortable truths rather than scroll past? Created genuine, nuanced dialogue about complex social issues?
Netflix’s recent hit drama Adolescence ticked all these boxes for me. And a lot of other people too, judging by the conversations it’s sparked across social media and beyond.
For those working in spaces where urgent change is needed – from climate action to social justice – there's gold to be mined from Adolescence and its approach to storytelling. The series masterfully converted entertainment into real-world conversations about teenage boys, incel culture, modern parenting and social media's darker corners.
Here's why it’s so effective – and how you can apply these techniques to your own communications work.
The power of what's left unsaid
We're living in an era of sensory overload. Violence has become background noise – from news reports to social media feeds filled with schoolyard fights filmed in portrait mode.
Adolescence takes a radically different approach. The stabbing scene appears only as distant, grainy CCTV footage. No dramatic music. No blood spatters. No slow-motion trauma.
This deliberate understatement forces us to focus on the context and consequences rather than the spectacle. It creates space for us to process what happened and why it matters.
Key takeaway:
Sometimes what you leave out is more powerful than what you include. When communicating about complex issues, resist the urge to pile on shocking statistics or graphic imagery. Create space for reflection and allow your audience to connect the dots themselves. The conclusions they reach independently will stick longer than anything you spell out for them.
The courage to resist resolution
Perhaps the most frustrating – and brilliant – aspect of Adolescence is the refusal to provide neat conclusions. No villain gets punished. No hero emerges triumphant. No tidy moral wraps everything up with a bow.
Instead, the narrative unwinds with uncomfortable threads left dangling. This deliberate incompleteness mirrors real life, where complex social problems don't resolve in hour long episodes.
By denying us closure, Adolescence forces us to sit with our discomfort. The conversations that emerge from this space are where the real impact happens.
Key takeaway:
Don't feel compelled to offer simple solutions to complex problems. Sometimes your role is to start conversations, not finish them. Trust your audience with ambiguity. The work of bringing about meaningful change often begins in precisely these spaces of discomfort.
The digestible chunk method
Adolescence is shot in real time, focusing on just four pivotal hours in a much larger story. Each episode functions as a microcosm while contributing to the wider narrative arc.
This episodic approach creates natural pauses for reflection, allowing viewers to process challenging information in manageable chunks. It transforms what could be an overwhelming narrative into something we can process.
Key takeaway:
Break complex issues into focused stories that illuminate specific aspects of the larger problem. This approach respects your audience's cognitive load and creates natural opportunities for them to engage more deeply with each element before moving on to the next. Consider how your messaging might benefit from this kind of episodic structure.
Dialogue over declaration
The third episode's exchange between Jamie and the clinical psychologist is a masterclass in dialogic storytelling. Rather than bombarding us with declarations or expert opinions, information emerges organically through conversation.
Questions remain partially answered. Responses reveal as much in their gaps as in their content. The slow drip of information engages us as active thinkers rather than passive recipients.
Key takeaway:
Model how ideas are formed through dialogue rather than presenting pre-packaged conclusions. Use conversational frameworks that incorporate questions, responses and collaborative thinking in your communications. This approach respects your audience's intelligence and helps them make their own meaning from what you communicate.
The "it could be you" factor
Adolescence refuses to other. The family at its centre isn't marked by obvious dysfunction or special circumstances. They're ordinary people confronted with the unthinkable.
This use of the everyman archetype brings the narrative uncomfortably close to home. It forces us to consider: this could be my family, my child, my community.
Key takeaway:
Avoid creating distance between your audience and the issues you're highlighting. Look for ways to help people see themselves in your narrative. The moment someone thinks "that could be me" is often the moment they begin to care deeply about an issue that previously felt abstract or distant.
The perfect balancing act
What makes Adolescence truly remarkable is how it balances these techniques. It denies us easy answers while still providing enough narrative movement to keep us engaged. It creates discomfort without alienating its audience. It tackles complex issues without simplifying them beyond recognition.
For changemakers, this balance is everything. Your communications need to challenge without overwhelming, provoke without alienating, simplify without distorting.
It also shows you don't need sensationalism to capture attention or reach a broad audience. And you don't need to provide all the answers to make a profound impact.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is create a space where people feel compelled to find their own answers.
What do you think?
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