Lights, Camera, Exploitation: The Toxic Reality Of Child Youtubers In 'bad Influence'

If you grew up in the days of playing in the street with your friends, building mud pies, chasing each other around barefoot, and sneaking a popsicle when no one was watching, consider yourself lucky.

'Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing', the new three-part documentary that recently dropped on Netflix, is a brutal reminder that many children today are trading their carefree childhoods for ring lights, scripted fun, and a parent armed with a spreadsheet and a camera.

Ive been binging documentaries lately, and this one stopped me in my tracks. Coming fresh off watching 'The Devil in Me', I couldnt help but notice how similar the themes are: manipulation, abuse of power, and a shocking lack of accountability.

The documentary hits differently, because it involves kids. Real kids. Children who should be in school, playing with their friends, figuring out who they are not acting out skits for millions of strangers online while their parents count the views and the cash.

At the heart of this unsettling doccie is teen YouTube star Piper Rockelle, a girl who began her journey at around eight years old on the once-popular lip-syncing app Musical.ly.