The Best Social Media & Influencers Documentaries

Internet & Digital Life - 48 free documentaries about social media & influencers.

Start with Therapy Gecko: Unmasking the Internet’s Unofficial Therapist (18 min, VICE), then Dying Young on TikTok (22 min, VICE). All 48 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on social media & influencers is Irresistible by Adam Alter.

• Therapy Gecko: Unmasking the Internet’s Unofficial Therapist | My Life Online (18 min, VICE)
• Dying Young on TikTok | My Life Online (22 min, VICE)
• Testing Five Teens After 10-Day Digital Detox: How Will They Perform? | No Screen, No Life - Part 2 (46 min, CNA Insider)
• My Video Went Viral. Here's Why (24 min, Veritasium)
• AI Slop Is Destroying The Internet (10 min, Kurzgesagt)
• The social media beauty cult (43 min, DW Documentary)
• "The Legendary Black Redneck" | My Life Online (20 min, VICE)
• The Guinea Pig Generation: Born Into the Algorithm | Gen Z (100 min, ENDEVR)
• The smartphone dilemma - TikTok, Snapchat and how to protect your kids (28 min, DW Documentary)
• How We Make Money on YouTube with 20M Subs (10 min, Kurzgesagt)
• The Downfall of GlitterForever17’s YouTube Empire | My Life Online (23 min, VICE)
• The Ex-Russian Spy Turned Millionaire Influencer | CREAM (29 min, VICE)
• Who is Manipulating Facebook? - Smarter Every Day 215 (21 min, Smarter Every Day)
• Doomscrolling & Late Workouts: Why Are These Young People So Tired? | Restless - Part 2/2 (47 min, CNA Insider)
• Behind the Algorithm: YouTube's Dark Secrets (57 min, ENDEVR)
• Selling crystals: How influencers profit from exploitation in India (20 min, DW Documentary)
• The Great Rewiring of Childhood: A Smartphone-Social Media Dystopia (19 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Australia Banned Kids From Social Media. Why Are They Still Getting In? | Talking Point (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Hooked On Screens: Can Five Teens Survive 10 Days Without Smartphones? | No Screen, No Life - Part 1 (45 min, CNA Insider)
• What It's Like to Be a QAnon Influencer in 2021 | The Deep End (23 min, VICE)
• What Happens When Device-Hooked Preschoolers Go On A 3-Week Screen Detox? | Talking Point (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Indonesian Entrepreneurs Use Social Media, Digital Tools To Transform Rural Towns | Echoes Of Change (47 min, CNA Insider)
• This Video Has 66,610 Likes (That's 3,081,141 Fewer Than Tom's!) (13 min, Steve Mould)
• Why Technology is Enslaving and Dehumanizing Us (19 min, Academy of Ideas)
• How To Reclaim Your Attention (and your life) - Dr. K (12 min, After Skool)
• Why I’m Not On Facebook | How Social Media Affects Our Lives | The Dark Side of Shiny Sites (78 min, Moconomy)
• Facebook Follies: When Social Media Takes Over (55 min, Real Stories)
• Social Media and The Psychology of Loneliness (9 min, Academy of Ideas)
• This TikTok Problem Child Has 7 Million Followers (33 min, Bloomberg Originals)
• Distracted Walking: Why It Affects You More Than You Think | Talking Point (22 min, CNA Insider)
• Social Media - Why it Sickens the Self and Divides Society (12 min, Academy of Ideas)
• Why Malaysia Wants To Ban Social Media For Youths | Insight (44 min, CNA Insider)
• What's It Like To Be A Foreign Worker in Japan? (22 min, CNA Insider)
• Animals on Instagram - Costumed dogs and tigers in Lamborghinis (26 min, DW Documentary)
• YouTube, YouTubers and You - VPRO documentary - 2017 (45 min, VPRO Documentary)
• The Deadly Side of TikTok Viral Challenges (25 min, Bloomberg Originals)
• What Does A Modern Zoo Look Like? Inside The Mandai Wildlife Reserve | Window Into The Wild - Part 1 (45 min, CNA Insider)
• Yishun: Singapore’s Weirdest Neighbourhood, Or Misunderstood? | On The Red Dot (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Click Farm: The Age Of YouTube Capitalism | The Viral Video Scam (57 min, Moconomy)
• Frames of Fame: From Polaroid to TikTok | The Evolution of Viral Content (46 min, Moconomy)
• Where Are The Views? One Man Tries To Go Viral On Youtube (68 min, Real Stories)
• Should Kids Under 16 Be Banned From Social Media? | Talking Point (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Obada: YouTube Star but all alone (44 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Social Media Bans For Teens Are Rising Worldwide, But Do They Really Work? (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Sharing Singapore's Culture On Tiktok | Our Lives According To Buses (47 min, CNA Insider)
• TikTok, A New Political Weapon: Can It Be Moderated? | Insight (47 min, CNA Insider)
• Jaron Lanier on Digital Life (72 min, The School of Life)
• What could the 2018 legislative agenda look like? (24 min, PBS)

Top-Rated Books About Social Media & Influencers

1. Irresistible by Adam Alter - View on Amazon
2. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt (3.7/5) - View on Amazon
3. Stolen Focus by Johann Hari (4.1/5) - View on Amazon