There are no books in Adolescence. The much-talked-about Netflix drama that details the aftermath of a murder of a young girl by a 13-year-old boy in an English town is an arresting watch that has focused attention on social media and how misogynistic messages are spread online. But both within the four-part series, and also around the conversation that has followed, books are pretty much absent.

The series begins with a police raid on the family home of the culprit – Jamie, played by Owen Cooper – before he is taken into custody. For the eagle-eyed there are a couple of books next to Jamie’s bed in those first few scenes of this episode, but never referenced. The series ends in the same house, as episode four portrays his parents’ attempts to come to terms with the actions of the child they raised. In this denouement, Jamie’s trajectory is mapped out by his parents – from drawing, to football, to boxing (briefly), to computer games, to social media. What could we have done, his mother wants to know. “We couldn’t have done anything about it,” his father flat-bats back, as the pair alight on the malign influence of social media.

That books are largely invisible in the scenario made up by the show’s creators – co-writer Jack Thorne, the actor Stephen Graham and producer Jo Johnson – can hardly be a surprise. A recent survey by the National Literacy Trust found that just 35% of eight to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time, with that cohort now at its lowest ever level. Boys read less than girls, and there is a considerable drop-off as children move into secondary school. The absence of books from the fictional universe of Adolescence is entirely consistent with what is also happening in reality.

According to the NLT, children who enjoy reading are three times more likely to have good mental wellbeing than children who do not 

The lack of books in the discussion around Adolescence is also telling. Talks around amplifying the benefits of reading have been ongoing for some time, with World Book Day, Books Are My Bag, Independent Bookshop Week, Quick Reads and the Summer Reading Challenge all part of a healthy mix of industry-led initiatives that have been shown to be impactful. But, post-pandemic, there was talk about stepping this up again. Two years ago at The Bookseller’s Marketing & Publicity Conference, we brainstormed some thoughts around what a new reading campaign might look like, with ideas ranging from hashtags such as #ReadOneThing to a partnership with the dating app Hinge. At the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, minds have again been focused with suggestions of a “general advertising campaign”. There is a question around who funds it, United Agents’ Jodie Hodges told us, and also around who should be taking the lead.

At Prime Minister Starmer’s gathering to discuss the impact of the drama, Anne Mensah, Netflix vice-president of UK Content, said: “Adolescence has captured the national mood, sparking conversations and helping articulate the pressures young people and parents face in today’s society.” According to the NLT, children who enjoy reading are three times more likely to have good mental wellbeing than children who do not. There are bigger issues at play here, but when I look at some of the proposed action points around education and empathy, books are already a key player, with reading for pleasure a life-enhancer.

Books will not be the only solution, of course, but they do at least need to be part of the conversation. And to Hodges’ point, it is all our jobs to make sure they are.