The Netflix docu-series showcases the harsh realities of profiting off of children on social media. Photo curtesy of Netflix.
Child stars have been relevant for decades with the rise of child actors in TV and film. Some iconic figures were Shirley Temple in the 1930s, Macaulay Culkin in the 1990s, and Dakota Fanning in the 2000s. However with the rise of social media, fame has become much more accessible, especially with children.
Piper Rockelle rose to fame in 2017 at just nine. She and her friends posted silly Musical.lys and YouTube videos, garnering millions of followers and views. Her mother, Tiffany Rockelle soon realized the power of her daughter’s social media presence and became her “momager,” promoting content that would bring in the most profit.
Rockelle created a YoTtube group called “The Squad” in 2018, recruiting other tween influencers who wanted to make it big. They would film videos together consisting of challenges, pranks, and games that appealed to kids.
Each member of The Squad gained thousands, sometimes even millions of followers and brought in lots of income. However, many of these members were left in the dark about their ability to profit off of content creation and Tiffany Rockelle took the money for herself. Since she was managing all the kids at the time, she was making hundreds of thousands of dollars in just a month, receiving income from all of them.
However, it wasn’t just money that Rockelle was taking. She was stealing the childhood from these children who once dreamt of making it big. Sophie Fergi, a former squad member and Piper Rockelle’s ex-best friend, explained what their work day consisted of.
“Everyone had to be there at 11 a.m. and we would shoot until 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.,” Fergi stated. These children would get minimal amounts of sleep and it was reported that they were not always provided meals while working.
In a 2023 court case, 11 former Squad members sued Tiffany Rockelle for profiting off of the work of minors and inflicting verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse upon the children. Between all of the plaintiffs, Rockelle was being sued for $22 million. She denied all of the claims made against her and the case ended in a $1.82 million settlement. However, the goal of the case was not necessarily to gain money, rather to attract awareness to Piper Rockelle’s situation and to the issue of child influencing.
In April 2025, Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing was released to Netflix. This 3 episode docu-series featured ex-Squad members and their parents, telling their story to the public. Rockelle’s former friends emphasized that they truly want the best for her and hope that she escapes from her mother. Many truths about the once beloved teen group were revealed, leaving fans surprised.
Ariana Grover, a sophomore who was formerly a fan of Piper Rockelle felt “disappointed” and “heartbroken” after watching the documentary. “I used to watch her videos all the time and hearing about what they all went through was shocking to me,” she said.
While there is no more “Squad,” Rockelle still posts frequently on platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat, but she is still heavily controlled by her mother. Many online supporters are worried about her wellbeing and fans are hoping to hear her side of the story once she turns 18 in August.
This case is just one of many. Child influencing is still something that we see all over social media and there are very little laws regulating it. Child labor laws do not apply to internet content creation, so these children can easily be overworked and taken advantage of for profit. Bringing awareness to these issues can promote progress and prevent situations like this from occurring in the future.