'Candy store for predators': Netflix doco exposes dark truth about YouTube

"When we serve up our children’s lives on a digital platter, we don’t get to choose who pulls up a chair."

4 min read

April 9, 2025 - 10:12AM

Lifestyle

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When they hit their pre-teen years, all kids want to be famous. Throw in the fact that so many of them are online and have access to social media, and that burning desire for more followers, more likes, more validation, more eyeballs on them increases dramatically.

We can thank the likes of Ryan's Toy Review, Diana and Roma, Mr Beast and Logan Paul (to name a few) for their growing obsession.

As their children watch on, parents are typically split into two categories:

Get this brain rot off our TV!
This looks like an easy way to earn money; how can we do it too?

Now, thanks to a new docuseries airing on Netflix, the spotlight is shining bright on the world of Kid Influencers, and it's an eye-opener every parent should watch.

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YouTuber Piper Rockelle and her friends were managed by her mum Tiffany Smith. Image: Netflix

About 'Bad Influence' on Netflix

Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing is a three-part series that follows the rise of teen YouTube star Piper Rockelle and her circle of friends known as 'The Squad'.

With guidance from Piper's mother, Tiffany Smith, the now 16-year-old formed a successful career in content creation online that would eventually earn her over 12 million subscribers on YouTube and see her net worth grow to US $3 million.

On average, The Squad would create 10-15 videos a day, and as their popularity grew, so did concern from parents. Tiffany's direction became desperate and scenes involving the children became more sexualised.

Slowly, members of The Squad distanced themselves from the group and fell victim to a hate campaign allegedly led by the Momager. A bombshell lawsuit ensued, followed by an explosive FBI investigation.

Through candid interviews with former Squad members and their families, the docuseries exposes the manipulative tactics employed by some guardians and the profound impact these have on young content creators.

The Squad. Image: Netflix

An eye-opening 'must-watch' for parents

The behind-the-scenes look into the world of child influencing is both eye-opening and disturbing, shedding light on the darker aspects of the influencer industry where children are thrust into the limelight without adequate protection.

The docuseries effectively underscores the urgent need for regulatory measures to safeguard minors in the digital space, especially when they're in the "obsessed with fame" age bracket.

It's a topic that will no doubt add to the conversation about the dangers of having children online, but also one that needs more work according to Aussie child abuse detective, Kristie McVee.

"I’ve seen the damage that unchecked adult power and authority can do and unfortunately, the world of kidfluencers is becoming the Wild West of child exploitation," Kristi tells Kidspot.

"We have strict child labour laws for a reason: to protect children from being overworked, used, and commodified. Yet when a child gains hundreds of thousands of followers online, those same protections vanish. There are no regulations around the hours they 'perform', who controls the money, or what personal content is shared, often by their own parents.

"These kids are being turned into brands before they even know who they are. And when your childhood is monetised, privacy becomes a currency you can never get back.

"The long-term psychological cost of having your life broadcast and exploited online, especially by the people meant to protect you, is something we haven’t even begun to reckon with."

The dark side of kid influencing is something every parent needs to know about. Image: Netflix

The dark side of Kidfluencers

On top of the exploitation at home, Kristi highlights the importance of parents being fully aware of the dark corners of the internet that feed on this kind of content.

"When children are consistently featured online - dancing, posing, sharing personal moments, we don't get to choose who views it, screen records it and shares it," Kristi warns.

"When we serve up our children’s lives on a digital platter, we don’t get to choose who pulls up a chair."

As mentioned in the docuseries, a statistic from Australia records 60 per cent of images found on predator computers were from social media, proving that the reality of having a big following online will ultimately mean having a lot of men you don't know anything about viewing your content.

There's no magic delete button when it comes to kids online

This concerning statistic is the reason child exploitation educator Sarah (aka @mom.uncharted) is so passionate about educating parents online about their children's digital footprint.

"I want to remind parents that there is no magic delete button when it comes to removing images and videos of our children online," she warns on Instagram.

"What I mean by that specifically is yes, if we upload here or a video here, we can manually delete it. But by that time, who has it? Where did it go? Did it go viral? Has it been stitched? Has it been duetted? Has it been downloaded? Has it been shared? Has it been screenshotted? Has it made it to Telegram, Discord, Reddit threads? Worst case scenario is it over on the dark web? Is it being altered or manipulated in grotesque ways?

"We really need to remember that once we post something, we immediately lose control of it, and there is no magic delete button."

While members of The Squd have gone their separate ways, Piper Rockelle continues to create content online.

Bad Influence is rated M15+ and is now airing on Netflix.