It feels like everyone is talking about the television series Adolescence, and for good reason, according to Australian parenting experts.
The gripping Netflix crime drama about a teenage boy accused of murdering a female classmate has been described as "a portrait of modern boyhood in profound crisis".
While the series takes toxic masculinity, loneliness and the gender divide to its extreme, psychologists and parenting experts say it has sparked "a valuable conversation" for Australian households and schools.
So, what can parents do to address some of these big themes in their own homes?
How to talk to your teenager about the show?
While Adolescence isn't based on a true story, its creators attribute the themes in the show to news stories about young boys being involved in knife crimes in the United Kingdom.
Queensland psychologist Dr Rachael Sharman says if you're a parent or caregiver who's watched it, you may want to better understand your teen's views around topics such as masculinity, social media, bullying or pornography.
"What you need to tap into first is, what is their point of view? What are they hearing? What sort of idea or opinion have they formed at this point?"
"Teenagers are naturally very inquisitive, and they're often quite interested in looking at all sorts of things from different perspectives.
"So actually helping teenagers consider things from a different point of view is a really helpful thing that you can do."
Netflix has given the show a TV-MA rating, which in Australia is equivalent to MA 15+ and not recommended for those under the age of 15.
Whether or not your teenager has watched the series, chances are they've had conversations with others who have, or they've read about it online.
Teen educator and author Rebecca Sparrow says if you choose to watch it with your teenager, "prepare to pause as you go to discuss what you're seeing".
"If your child is responsive, ask them questions like, 'what did you notice in this episode?' 'Do you think that's a realistic portrayal of a high school?"
"'What are the unspoken rules at high school that adults are clueless about?' 'When have you seen boys at school talk about girls in a disrespectful way?"'
Ms Sparrow says if they don't have a response, "share your own thoughts on what you saw".
How do you stay connected to your teen?
Dr Sharman says Adolescence also begs the question, are parents truly aware of what their children are doing online?
"Kids are living in a very different world, almost across two worlds; the real world and the online world," Dr Sharman says.
"Letting that influence into the house, let alone the bedroom, where it's being unsupervised and unmonitored, can … send off a range of knock-on effects that people didn't fully appreciate."
Rebecca Sparrow recommends keeping internet-enabled devices out of bedrooms, especially at night, and delaying social media access until they're at least 16 years of age.
The federal parliament has passed legislation to ban people under 16 from having an account with some social media platforms.
Ms Sparrow says of equal importance is to "model the behaviour" we want to see.
"Let them see dad showing tenderness toward mum, or grandad towards grandma," she says.
"Let them see fights being resolved through communication rather than screaming or slamming doors."
Parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson says there are other practical things parents can do to ensure they're staying connected with their teenager.
"Monitor your kids' online activities, talk to them regularly and listen twice as much," he says.
"Minimise screen time and foster face to face relationships, including spending more time together as a family.
"Know where your kids are and ensure they have access to great adults who care about them."
Addressing the issues with boys and girls
Dr Coulson says the show had such a profound effect on him that he is rewriting the final chapter in his new book about raising boys.
"Our boys are being robbed of the opportunity to develop into men unburdened by these destructive conceptions of masculinity," he says.
His review about the show on social media has also had an overwhelming response.
"This is one of the biggest posts that I've ever had in terms of not just the number of responses, but the quality of the responses.
"People are really thinking about it in deep and nuanced ways and it's wonderful."
And he is quick to point out that the topics raised in the show are not just a conversation for men and boys.
"I'm going to be having the same discussion, if I'm talking to a daughter or a son," he says.
"How do we have respect? How do we have kindness?
"I think we can remove gender, it's a human thing and we're just not teaching that to our kids."
The Victorian Women's Trust, an independent gender equality agency, is hosting a free webinar for parents next month discussing the rise of sexism and misogyny in Australian schools.
Executive director Mary Crooks says the event will highlight the work of Monash University in understanding the "manosphere" and being able to counter the '"sinister influence" of toxic masculinity online.
"Our constituency are largely women around the country, they're in their 30s, 40s, 50s, they will have kids themselves," Ms Crooks says.
"It's really to try and lift the lid off the kind of problems that are occurring and offering some kind of practical guidance for where people can go for advice and support," she says.
Where can you go if your teen needs help?
In the last episode of the show, the boy's parents grapple with questions about whether they overlooked signs of trouble, including their son's 'terrible temper'.
Dr Rachael Sharman says parents need to remind themselves that the storyline in the show is not common.
"There are certainly vulnerable points in [a child's] development and vulnerable parts of the population that may be influenced in a way that can be quite surprising," she says.
"What they're trying to point out here is that there's this new internet manosphere issue that is appealing to some teenagers.
"Then a very, very tiny number of teenagers will take that in a most dreadful direction."
She says if you are concerned about your teenager's behaviour or mental health, speak to your GP.
"That's actually really important, because sometimes there can be biological or medical issues that manifest psychologically," she says.
"What might be seem like tiredness or anger or emotionality is actually an underlying biological medical issue.
"And then once they've ruled that out, and they think, 'maybe there is something psychological going on here', they can help develop a mental health plan for you and get you referred to the appropriate psychologist."
This article contains general information only. You should consider obtaining independent professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances.
