By Heather Halperin
Correspondent
The new Netflix documentary “Bad Influencing: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing” takes a deep dive into the world of being a child content creator and the dangerous effects and mental toll it has on the children involved.
The three-part series narrows in on Piper Rockelle, a popular social media personality, her mom-manager Tiffany Smith and the controversy that surrounds her internet career. It explores the allegations of exploitation and abuse within the content creation group they started known as “The Squad.”
The series starts at the beginning of Rockelle’s YouTube career and the formation of her and Smith’s content creation empire.
As the years went on, Rockelle and Smith added more and more members to their group of creators. It started as a way for young kids who loved being in front of the camera to express themselves and create humorous content together.
However, there was another side to the industry that people, especially those directly involved in the group, chose to ignore. This series finally answered the questions that have been circling the internet since this group was formed.
It explained what truly went on behind the scenes of each YouTube video, why members of “The Squad” would be mysteriously replaced and why these specific kid influencers would disappear from social media.
The docuseries exposes Smith for the cruel things she was putting her daughter, Rockelle, and the other kids through. It also showed the extreme efforts Smith made to stay relevant and popular on all social media platforms.
As the kids grew more popular on their platforms, the emotional, physical and sexual abuse got much worse. Slowly, the original “Squad” removed themselves from the channel and disassociated themselves from Rockelle and Smith completely.
In 2022, 11 ex-members of “The Squad” filed a lawsuit against Smith for many issues, such as financial misconduct, child labor violations and the abuse they endured while being a part of their group.
After two years, in 2024, the 11 former members received a $1.85 million settlement. Despite the lawsuit, Smith continues to deny all allegations and faces no criminal charges for her actions.
This series furthermore highlights the lack of legal protection for child influencers and how the world ignored the similarities between their experiences and those of traditional child entertainers.
Several experts helped to explain the urgent need for regulations to protect minors in the social media industry. The documentary provides a look into the potential dangers that come with being a “kidfluencer,” further sharing the destruction this industry can cause.
Since the documentary was released on Netflix on April 9, Rockelle has received comments across her platforms wishing her nothing but the best and praying that she escapes her mother, Smith.
While Rockelle and Smith have yet to comment on the documentary, there is more that could come out of this, considering the series was recently released.
On the other hand, many of the 11 members featured in the documentary have continued to share their stories on their social media platforms, causing people to turn their attention to the hazards of the “kidfluencer” industry.
