The Dark Side of Childhood Influencers

Hey and welcome to my blog, 'diaryofanoverthinker' Today, I’m diving into yet another documentary that is probably going to be my next obsession. Yes, I’m talking about the Piper Rockelle documentary that just came out this week. So sit back, relax and enjoy me yapping(as always) about yet another deep-dive documentary that’s left me with a million thoughts.

Backstory

Before I dive into all my thoughts on the documentary, I should probably give a little background—just in case you somehow missed the Piper Rockelle era (aka lived under a rock as a kid and didn’t binge her YouTube videos).

Piper Rockelle was one of the biggest child influencers on the internet. She and her friends known as  The Squad—started creating content at around 9 years old and quickly blew up. Tons of kids (myself included) were obsessed with their videos. But over time, the group slowly started to fall apart. The reasons for their breakup were never really clear, and honestly, as kids, we didn’t think too much about it.

Recently, though, all the behind-the-scenes drama has started to come to light—thanks to lawsuits, former members speaking out, commentary from other creators, and now this documentary (plus all the leaks that came out in the weeks leading up to it). There's even been a trend of ex-Squad members using the song "We Hug Now" by Sydney Rose, which is about a friend breakup. I’m not 100% sure if the song was actually about them, but wow, it fits a little too well.

Now for what the documentary was about. Basically the Netflix documentary  Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing into how The Squad , was managed by Piper's mother, Tiffany Smith. The series reveals allegations from 11 former Squad members who accused Tiffany and her partner, Hunter Hill, of creating a toxic, abusive environment. These allegations included emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as financial exploitation. 

Honestly it was just an eye opener to everything that was happening behind the scenes while thousands if kids wished to be them.

My thoughts on the documentary

Honestly, this documentary hit really hard. And I think it would still hit hard even if I didn’t know who they were—but because The Squad was part of my childhood (even if only a small part), it hit even harder.

What made me feel even worse was realizing how easily I had gone along with the hate toward Piper over the past few years. When the internet was calling her a “hoe” or saying she was a bad friend, I just... kind of believed it. I didn’t question it—because so many people were saying the same thing and I mean there was some evidence . But this documentary really showed that she was never either of those things. She was just a kid, probably confused and overwhelmed, stuck in a really toxic situation.

And honestly, I still can’t wrap my head around how Tiffany—her own mother—could treat not just the other kids that way, but especially her own child. It’s bizarre. Disturbing, really.

It’s made me start thinking about all the other kidfluencers I used to watch growing up. What was going on behind the scenes for them? How many of them were also in situations that none of us could see? It’s honestly so unsettling.

Honestly, I feel so much after watching this documentary and thinking about everything that happened to every single one of those kids. It’s hard to even put all my thoughts into words—the only thing I can say is that it’s deeply disturbing and absolutely devastating.

I truly hope Piper is able to see that none of what she went through is normal, and that she finds a way to break free from it all. More than anything, I hope this documentary opened people’s eyes and maybe, in some way, helped other kids in similar situations.

That’s all from me for today. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog—and if you haven’t watched the documentary yet, I highly recommend it.

Until next time,
Byeeee <333