I was surprised when I first heard the news about the documentary series “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” coming out, exposing abuse among child influencers. The children speaking out on social media needed more attention for their lawsuit, and the docu-series shares their story and brings awareness to viewers worldwide. It had moments that left me in shock and feeling empathy for the children.
“The Squad” was a group of kid influencers coming together on Piper Rockelle’s YouTube channel, creating different kinds of content with each other. The docu-series “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” lets children and their parents talk about their experiences in The Squad, exposing the toxic environment. The main focus is on social media star Piper Rockelle’s mom, Tiffany Rockelle, where they talk about upsetting moments of the children being touched inappropriately by her. It also has unseen footage that had never been shown to the public and things that have not been talked about yet, which were surprising to hear.
Some of the things discussed were heartbreaking; the young adults in Piper Rockelle’s YouTube channel were in a toxic environment, and exploited for money by Piper’s mother on the internet for views. Previously, as an outside viewer, I thought it was just exciting videos of children having fun, when in reality it was way different. The children speaking up about it changed my mind on how it was for them. The docu-series shows the strong and brave Squad members telling their side of the story, and I thought they were inspiring, being open to how they felt and talking about what they went through with grace.
The technical aspects are well done too. One thing I like is that the sounds of the music add to the story. I also like the visuals because they get you to see what kind of experiences were taking place, and help you understand what was happening for the Squad members through pictures and videos. The editing style was also strong because it was effective with the music choice and timing.
The last thing I like is the ending, because it adds clips of Piper Rockelle when she was younger, with an emotional song called “Liar” by Tiny Deaths, which made me sad and reminded me how it used to be at the beginning of her social media fame. It leaves on the ending note that the people in the squad left a message for Piper: to care for her and her well-being once she gets out of the hands of her mother one day. Netflix ended the episode on a helpful note and gave hope to her; which brings peace.
Overall, this docu-series is bringing awareness to sexual assault victims and the dangers of being a kid influencer on social media. This is a must-watch.
