Everything we say has an impact ... so choose your words carefully

Since I finished Stranger Things a couple of months ago, though, I felt there had been some slim pickings on the old Netflix account.

However, that was until 13 Reasons Why was released last week. If you haven’t heard of this programme, then you must have been living under a rock!

13 Reasons Why follows the story of Clay, an awkward teenage boy who receives pre-recorded cassette tapes from a girl named Hannah outlining 13 situations, scenarios and people which she believes contributed to her committing suicide.

As odd as that sounds, it’s strangely addictive, not simply because viewers are determined to see what role Clay played, but also because of the harsh truths the programme outlines.

The thing which has been so significant for me thus far into the series – I’m on episode nine – is how realistic it is.

In an interview co-producer Selena Gomez gave, she said that they didn’t want to romanticise suicide and they succeeded.

You know pretty much from the beginning that Hannah killed herself in a horrific way and you’re left watching the remainder of the programme with the knowledge that characters who you thought were nice actually contributed.

More than anything, it forces us to consider the idea that everything we say has an impact. Everything we do makes a difference to someone else’s life.

It’s rare that you find a programme which draws so many similarities to modern life but that’s what makes 13 Reasons Why so successful.

Frightening, gripping and upsetting, above all else it’s real – and there are already calls for a follow-up.