I found this documentary on Netflix and, as a girl who just missed out on the generation that had smart phones as teenagers, I was fascinated to see what those teenagers had to say about it.

Social_animals follows three main teenagers. Kaylyn who has a rich dad and is blonde, and pretty, and basically the all American girl. Emma who is more of the girl next door from a small time type of person. And Humza Deas a daredevil who got in trouble because of his social presence.

Starting with Kaylyn she showed how she was using her social media to build a brand around herself and her modelling work. She seems to live the high life and doesn’t have too many stresses and her social media life seems perfect. Kaylyn uses the Instagram app how I imagine a lot of young girls wish they could use it, by just being themselves and being paid for it. But Kaylyn has smarts and has more to her, she just knows from having a business savvy dad that she needs to get ahead of the curve. She reminded me a lot of Cher from Clueless and how her life was in the movie.

Emma shows us the darker side of Instagram, the bullying and the lies and the want for acceptance. It’s get to the point where Emma tries to kill herself because of the lies and negativity being spread about her and shows how bullying has gained a new form in this new day and age. Her story also brings up the question as to whether teenagers should have social media when they are still so sensitive to the world around them and all the changes that are happening in their lives. Kids want to grow up so quick but do the parents have the right to stop this to save them from the dangers on the internet? Or should teenagers be taught to be more strong and ignore the things being said about them?

And finally we have Humza who climbs buildings and takes stunning Instagram shots. He rose to fame which is what all these young Instagram posters want to do but then he lost his friends because of it as they were jealous and wanted the fame for themselves. He also gets in trouble with the police for trespassing on these buildings and his Instagram almost gets shut down. It begs the question; is risking your life or your future really worth that Instagram post? If you don’t take risks you don;t get anywhere but is it really worth it?

I found this documentary fascinating and it brought such interesting versions of how social media can be to the spotlight. I think people see social media as this great thing that connects different people and lets you show off your personality.But when you’re still discovering yourself, and you take things as face value, should you really be exposed to it? Likes aren’t the be all, end all of life.

What do you think?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding