BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING Season 1 Episode 1

Name: BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING Season 1 Episode 1
Item: BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING Season 1 Episode 1
Author: Review

"Exposing the World of Kid Influencers"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING tells the true story of Piper Rockelle and her mother and manager, Tiffany Smith, and the “Squad” of kid influencers they created. As they gained more success, troubling allegations of workplace exploitation and sexual abuse began to surface.

Overall, BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING is very well made, featuring interesting and informative interviews with many people involved with the “Squad.” BAD INFLUENCE has a strong moral worldview, criticizing Tiffany Smith for her actions, but does feature some strong language. Due to the serious subject matter covered in the episode, Movieguide® advises extreme caution.

Content:

(BB, L, S, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview, criticizing the exploitation kid influencers face from both the industry and their own parents;

Foul Language:

Three obscenities and one “OMG” profanity.;

Violence:

No violence;

Sex:

Brief mention of the sexual assault allegations leveled against Tiffany Smith, which will be discussed further in later episodes, including the revelation that she asked one young boy in the “Squad” if he was aroused while looking at her. There is also an interview with a trans man who knew Tiffany and the “Squad.”;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

None; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

In addition to exploiting her own child, as well as the children of others, Tiffany was verbally abusive to adults and children Piper worked with, even bullying some for YouTube videos and encouraging others to cyberbully kids she kicked out of the “Squad,” she also withheld money the children on the “Squad” helped earn through their appearances in videos.

More Detail:

Netflix’s documentary, BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING tells the true story of YouTube star Piper Rockelle’s “Squad,” from how it began, to the dark turns it took for the young kids involved in the group.

In the series’ first episode, BAD INFLUENCE relates how Piper and her mother, Tiffany Smith, got into vlogging and other social media. Raised by a single mother, Piper began competing in pageants as a child and soon started posting on the app Musically, which later became TikTok.

Things started taking off for Piper when she landed a role on the reality show DANCE TWINS. She and Tiffany later moved to Los Angeles. There, she scored a role on the YouTube show MANNY, and her social media presence grew even bigger.

Piper and Tiffany also began forging friendships with other mothers and children, making videos and posting on social media. However, things started to get tense when the other moms noticed they weren’t seeing any of the money Tiffany and Piper were getting from their monetized videos and that many of the videos featured problematic content, like “crush” and kissing content, as well as bullying, masked as teasing.

The first episode of BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING sets the stage for the more serious issues surrounding Piper, Tiffany, and their video Squad, from allegations of unsafe and exploitative workplaces, to claims that Tiffany acted inappropriately towards the children she worked with.

BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING is the latest bombshell series showing the dark side of child stars, whether they’re on TV or making social media content. The series is well made, featuring interviews from many of the kids and parents involved, and gives a concise overview of who Piper and her Squad are as they set up the rest of the series.

Overall, BAD INFLUENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDFLUENCING has a strong moral worldview, as Tiffany’s actions are condemned, as are other practices standard in the world of “kidfluencing.” There are some references to the sexual misconduct perpetrated against many of the children in The Squad, but a deeper dive into those allegations doesn’t appear until later episodes. There are a few instances of strong language and an interview with a trans man who knew Tiffany and the Squad. Due to the serious subject matter discussed in BAD INFLUENCE, Movieguide® advises extreme caution.