Social Studies (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
Good morning, even though
it's not even remotely morning.
Um
Coming back to
school has brought on
a new level of
anxiousness that I feel--
I don't think I've ever
really experienced.
[Jenna] Hi, can
you talk right now?
I'm just, like, stressed
about what to wear to school.
[Jasmine] [over laptop] Yeah, I feel
like everyone's stressed about that.
[scoffs]
I'm picking out the outfit that I
wanna wear for the first day of school.
This is what I have so far.
I'm really stressed
about going back.
[Jonathan] After the
pandemic, I'm definitely excited
to be back on campus after being
in E-learning for a year and a half.
[Jasmine] [over laptop] Would
you wear, like, what shoes, like?
That's a good question.
It helps to know, like,
-what you guys would be wearing.
-Okay.
So, I have an option
[Alec] You spent a
lotta time on your own,
and now you're getting into
a class full of 30 students
and it's just a lotta things
that go through your mind.
In person, you
can't mute yourself
and you can't turn
off your camera.
You have to show up to school
and you have to be perceived
by every single person there.
[exhales] School is starting.
[street traffic noise]
[♪"jealousy, jealousy"
by Olivia Rodrigo playing]
♪I kinda wanna throw my
phone across the room ♪♪
♪'Cause all I see are
girls too good to be true ♪♪
♪With paper-white
teeth and perfect bodies ♪♪
♪Wish I didn't care ♪♪
♪I know their
beauty's not my lack ♪♪
♪But it feels like that
weight is on my back ♪♪
♪And I can't let it go ♪♪
♪And I see everyone
getting all the things I want ♪♪
♪And I'm happy for them,
but then again, I'm not ♪♪
♪Just cool vintage clothes
and vacation photos ♪♪
♪I can't stand it, oh,
God, I sound crazy ♪♪
♪Their win is not my loss ♪♪
♪I know it's true ♪♪
♪But I can't help
getting caught ♪♪
♪Up in it all ♪♪
♪Co-co-comparison
is killing me slowly ♪♪
♪I think, I think too much ♪♪
♪'Bout kids who
don't know me ♪♪
♪I'm so sick of myself ♪♪
♪I'd rather be, rather be ♪♪
♪Anyone, anyone else ♪♪
♪Jealousy, jealousy, yeah ♪♪
♪All your friends
are so cool ♪♪
♪You go out every night ♪♪
♪In your daddy's nice car,
yeah, you're living the life ♪♪
♪Got a pretty face, a
pretty boyfriend too ♪♪
♪I wanna be you so bad,
and I don't even know you ♪♪
♪All I see is
what I should be ♪♪
♪Happier, prettier,
jealousy, jealousy ♪♪
♪All I see is
what I should be ♪♪
♪I'm losing it, all I
get's, jealousy, jealousy ♪♪
♪Co-comparison
is killing me slowly ♪♪
[Geo] Good morning.
Everybody make some noise.
[cheering and applause]
It's been a crazy year.
You guys weren't
able to be on campus.
And you had to do your whole
freshman year from E-learning.
Give yourselves a pat
on the back right now,
because you did it.
[cheering]
And we want you
to have a vision,
kinda like Steve Kerr,
will.i.am, Forest Whitaker.
Does anybody know what all
these people have in common?
[microphone feedback]
If you said they all
went to Pali, you're right.
Steve Kerr
and he won NBA
championships as a coach.
Decorated coach and player
[Geo] We got will.i.am,
Grammy-nominated, uh, performer.
[Geo] um, Forest Whitaker.
[Geo] will.i.am used to
do hip-hop freestyle circles.
Forest Whitaker
[Ella] Oh!
[Geo] He was a thespian
here on this campus.
[Geo] He studied theater
and now he's a superstar.
[♪light music playing]
[Ella] I'm Ella and I
live in Los Angeles,
but more specifically the
west side, so Mar Vista.
Since the pandemic,
my social media use
has increased by
a lot, by, like, 100%.
I used to, like, read
and do a lot of art more
and now, instead,
I'm on my phone.
Before, you were interacting
with people, like, face to face,
you didn't really need to
use your phone that much,
but now, like, it's the only
form of interaction most days
and so, you just--
it's the only way you kind
of feel connected to anyone.
I like to mainly,
like, go on TikTok.
I like that it's social,
like, the social
part of social media
and I like that you
get to see, like, art,
people being creative
and, like, funny things.
I think that part is cool.
[speaker] [on TikTok
audio] Help! He's escaping!
The killer is escaping!
[Ella] Sometimes I make
TikToks if I have a funny idea,
even if I don't actually post it
or if I'm just feeling pretty.
[♪lip-syncing to
"Won't Bite" by Doja Cat]
I kind of want to be the
Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
But I don't think
that's fully me.
[♪lip-syncing to "space
girl" by Frances Forever]
I've never fully
been just one thing.
[♪lip-syncing to "Bad
Romance" by Lady Gaga]
I tried to get off, but
then you just feel like
you're missing out and it’s,
like, really hard to get off of.
-[phone notification]
-[Dr. Lee] How sweet is it
that none of them are
on their cell phones?
I'm pretty impressed about
that. That's upstanding.
They're like, "We're not
addicted to that," you know?
[Ella] I think especially
with quarantine,
it's amplified the need
to have a connection
and I think that's a good
part about social media.
[speaker] [in video] Hi, friends.
Today I'm eating like Khloé Kardashian
for the day who apparently
[Ella] I definitely fell into
a little rabbit hole,
especially earlier
quarantine over summer.
My social media,
like, consumption,
it was, like, 12 hours a day.
I definitely found myself,
like, comparing to people
online that I didn't even know.
People will take videos, like,
whether they're drunk or high
and it looks so much fun.
All of my friends, we
were all kind of like,
this is cool, you didn't
have anything else to do.
[Dr. Magee] The past year-plus
has been really strange for us all.
So, we wanna make
sure that you are okay.
[Ella] Now that
we're back in school,
I hope that my personal
social media use goes down.
But I also think it'll be so much
more incorporated into everyone's lives
because we rely
on it so much now.
[Rustin] To be kept updated, make
sure to follow our class Instagram,
and thank you guys so much.
So, make sure to
follow that Instagram.
[cheering and applause]
[Lauren Greenfield] When
I first started this project,
my hope was to document
the first generation of kids
that had grown up with
social media their entire lives.
So, what we're doing is a
project about social media.
So, since you guys are all on
your phones at the same time,
would you mind screen recording?
We needed the kids to
share their social media,
so we could understand the
content of what was impacting them.
-Are you screen recording now?
-[Jenna] Yeah.
-[Lauren] Are you on screen recording, Ella?
-Yeah.
[Lauren] Are you screen
recording right now, Alec?
Uh, yes. My phone's
over there, though.
[Lauren] Okay. Maybe just
grab your phone so you've got it.
-This was kind of a huge deal.
-Okay.
But they slowly let us into
their social media worlds.
Sharing their private accounts,
their digital experiences,
their social media feeds.
Access to these private worlds
reveals so much more
than social media content.
It's a window into coming of age
in the time of social media.
[softly] Oh, God. [chuckles]
[Lauren] An influence that now
touches every part of growing up.
[indistinct chatter]
Teenagers from schools
across Los Angeles
agreed to share
their lives for the year.
[indistinct chatter]
It's so cute.
[Lauren] We have a therapist
if anything we talk about
is activating in any way.
If, today, you could just do
the sign language for clapping
if you relate to what
somebody says.
And, um, just one question,
-how do you feel without your phone?
-[crosstalk]
[Ellie] I was like, "It feels
like camp," you know?
[laughter]
I love that, I
love that feeling.
I love that feeling.
[Sydney] I keep on, like,
subconsciously tryna, like,
reach for my phone
and then be like,
"Oh, wait, I don't
have it, like"
I wanna ask you guys about,
like, when fame became important.
Like, when did you start
noticing, like, if you
had a lotta followers,
if you had a lotta views,
like, when did it
become important
to be known in that way?
Hey! Ugh, finally, I'm here.
Diary two, take two.
I mean, take three.
And cut!
I've always wanted to do this.
I'm Ivy.
I am 17, going on 18, and
I'm a senior at Pali High.
Gotta take a picture.
I have been on
social media for years.
[♪"Toxic" by Britney
Spears plays in video]
A lot of my childhood
is, like, a big blur.
The details are always fuzzy.
I was very lonely
and I would live inside my head.
I feel like my social
skills weren't that good.
So, I was bad at making friends.
Sorry, I don't have my
friends with me today,
but, um, that doesn't
mean we can't have a party!
Hello, people. I'm on the moon.
I cannot breathe,
but-- [shrieks]
[Ivy] I was just, like,
imagining that I would
post myself on YouTube
and I'd be famous
and everyone
would, like, adore me.
It let me see myself
in a way that I didn't get
to in any other situation.
[♪singing]
And I could fully be myself.
[Jordan] For teenagers,
social media is kind of, like,
the only way for us to,
like, kind of communicate,
like, that's how we,
um, express ourself.
I've always loved social media.
Even when I'm
bored or when I'm sad,
it's always been, like, kind
of like my own safe place.
[Ella] I feel like YouTube
really shaped my childhood,
and I watched it a lot
when I was younger.
[Ivy] Mostly, I spend
my time on TikTok.
I love to educate myself
and I love to learn new things,
but once you start scrolling,
it doesn't really
end. [chuckles]
How to
[Ella] I learned thrifting tips,
I learned different styles
that I don't like and I like.
I learned what games I liked.
I learned what I liked to watch.
I learned the type
of people I liked.
Basically anything you
want to find on TikTok,
you can find by
searching, like, the words.
So like, "book" and then
adding "tok" to the end of it.
So, there's, like,
"cooktok," there's "booktok,"
there's "witchtok," which
is one of my favorites.
So, you can always, like,
find someone to discuss with.
Like, I just don't
have that in real life,
so I'm really happy
that I have this app.
[Lauren] Do you
guys have a sense
of what the For You
Page knows about you?
-Like--
-[Jenna] It's so scary.
-[Maren] It's terrifying.
-[crosstalk]
I swear to God the
phone's, like, listened
to what I'm saying
'cause, like, actually
[Jack] I don't really use
TikTok other than posting.
What's the craziest
thing you've ever done?
I mean, I guess
some trends, like,
there was the crate challenge.
[person chanting]
People would fall
from the top one
and then they'd
go to the hospital.
-[people shouting]
-[sirens wailing]
Then there was the
devious licks challenge.
Devious lick is, like, stealing
something from school.
Like, a soap dispenser, but,
like, stealing something big.
It's, like, theft,
but it's a trend
so people think it's
not as bad as it is
'cause it's in a TikTok bubble.
[Jack] Someone actually
broke one of the toilets,
which was kind
of-- it's not funny,
but it's just, like, it's crazy
that the world has came to that.
[Jordan] I know some stuff
where parents are just like,
"Okay, I don't want my daughter
knowing that at a young age."
But I feel like social
media's helped me in ways
where it's, like, oh, you
can tell from right or wrong.
If I didn't really
have social media,
I would probably just be
a very lousy 14-year-old.
Maybe that, maybe that's
how I envision myself.
[dog barking]
My name is Jordan.
I'm starting 10th grade at
Palisades Charter High School.
Since last year,
when I was just online
for that whole year,
I was just incredibly
lonely at that time.
So, I didn't really
connect with people.
I have to get to the
bus at, like, 6 a.m.
Okay.
Okay. 10 outta 10.
Are you ready to go?
[bus driver] Bye,
have a great day.
Bye, have a great day.
[Jordan] It's a big school and,
um, I mean, I am a little nervous.
[sighs]
It's really intimidating
'cause I was like,
"Oh, my God, all
these other kids,"
which is why I'm kinda scared
of, like, going up to people.
I'm just hoping to have a
friend group that cares for me
and I don't have to go through
this high school
experience alone.
-[teacher] Hi. Jordan!
-[Jordan] Hi.
People in real
life are definitely
way more intimidating
than people online.
For, like, internet
friends, it's easier.
Even though they don't
know where you live
or how old you are.
[notifications chiming]
ophist philosophy
evolved into a more
radical level of more realism.
Pragmatic social philosophy
unfettered by moral considerations
[Ella] I'm realizing that I can't,
like, sit still in class anymore.
Like, I can't just put everything
away and pay attention.
[Mr. Rauschuber] So,
we get this now, right?
Behaving, generally,
in a conventional way
that affords us the
most social power?
Alright, let's open
up the reader.
"Calvin and Hobbes,"
you guys know
[Ella] Teachers don't really
tell me to shut off my phone.
Either they know or they
don't know, I don't know.
But, like, I'm listening and I
participate in class all the time,
it's more something to keep,
like, the restless part
of my brain active.
Especially because of COVID.
I don't think anyone
has any attention,
all of us are always, like,
on our phones or
on our computers,
just doing something,
just to do something.
[Jack] Aye, any of you guys
wanna be in a TikTok interview?
It's just for fun.
-[student 1] Maybe next time.
-[Jack] Maybe next time?
-Alright. You wanna be in it?
-[student 2] No.
[Jack] Alright, so the
question for today:
How much does your fit cost?
Oh, like, just my outfit?
[Jack] Yeah, your
outfit, break it down.
[Jai] Cargo pants,
nothing crazy.
-[Jack] Yeah, yeah.
-Probably 20-25.
[Jack] Aye, love
to hear it, man.
[student 3] Got these
shoes, about a, about a K.
-[Jack] Aye, awesome, man.
-[Jai] Wait, a thousand dollars?
-[student 3] Yeah.
-[Jai] Whoa!
[Jack] That's crazy.
So, who has the more
-expensive fit?
-[student 3] Oh, me.
-[Jack] What would you say?
-Hey, I still look better, though.
[student 4] Big fan
of your work, bro.
-[Jack] Appreciate it.
-[student 5] That was too funny.
-[Jack] That was good.
-[student 5] Dude, send the fucking--
-Send the thing, Jack.
-[Jack] I will.
[students chattering]
[bird chirping]
-[Keshawn] Do we come in?
-[Ms. Moore] You can.
Your phones need to go up
today because I can't have that.
So, if you need to charge,
feel free to plug it in.
[Keshawn] Craziest
thing, I mean,
I didn't even bring
it today, you know?
-It's like-- -[Ms. Moore] Yeah, I
think I really don't believe that.
[Keshawn] Just one of them days.
[Ms. Moore] Are you eating in
my classroom with your mask off?
[Keshawn] Actually, I'm not.
[Ms. Moore] It
looked like you were,
but I must've
been seeing things.
-[Keshawn] Mm-hm.
-[Ms. Moore] Uh-huh.
My name is Keshawn
and I'm a 12th grader
at Palisades High School.
You see all type of things
at Palisades, you know?
You can see the rich kids.
You can see who don't
really have it like that.
And comin' from Westchester
some of the kids, like,
is livin' the dream
that we are grindin' for.
My dad is from Chicago,
big-time gang member.
And I grew up-- been
chased, been robbed,
been shot at, seen
bodies, seen everything.
My mom is from Belize.
She knew what I was
gonna be eventually
if I stayed on that side,
so, since a kid, she
brought me far away
from them, you
know, raised me right.
So now, I'm focused on
making everybody proud.
[Ms. Moore] Hi, guys,
come on in, come on in.
Keshawn, you're three.
[Keshawn] I'm actually 17.
[Ms. Moore] Oh, my gosh, did
you remember your phone now?
-It's a miracle.
-[Keshawn] Yeah, you're right.
[Ms. Moore] You forgot your
phone, but you actually didn't.
-You have it.
-[Keshawn] I forgot it was in my pocket,
-I meant to say.
-[Ms. Moore] Oh, gosh. I hate when that happens.
[Keshawn] I transferred
from my old school to Pali
for one reason: play football.
I used to sneak on the
bus to go to the games.
Like, I was really just all
about football back then.
I really loved the sport.
That was, like, my ticket out.
But things didn't
fall out that way.
I lost focus in school
and started to slip a little.
I got kicked off
the football team.
[♪"Making Moves"
by kdgetuchies playing]
When I didn't have
football, I didn't have nothin'.
And that's when
DJing came around.
I bought my, my studio equipment
and it sparked somethin' in me.
It's where the magic happens.
Instagram started my DJ career.
That's how people can get in
touch with me to DJ at the party.
"Are you available this
and such and such"
My dream is to be the
millionaire of the family.
[ambient street noise]
Hey, do you guys wanna
be in an interview for TikTok?
It's about your outfit.
No? Alright. It's all good.
Aye! Do you wanna be in
an interview about your outfit?
-[pedestrian] Sure.
-Alright, bet. Let's get it.
-[pedestrian] Okay.
-Alright, so the question for today.
How much does your fit cost?
-My fit?
-Your outfit.
A lot.
Good question. He
pays for most of it.
[Jack] I film a lot of my
content at Rodeo Drive.
'Cause you see all
the drip and all that.
Shoes, like, I think,
like, were a thousand.
Sheesh. You got them Diors on.
[pedestrian] About
20 racks on the watch.
Sheesh!
-$1,500.
-Sheesh.
-Ah, 40 bucks.
-Aye! We love to hear it!
You're keepin' it humble.
Humble? This is pretty nice
in w-- in, uh, the Midwest.
At first, it was just for
the fun, the exposure.
I thought it'd be sick
to help build my image,
but I didn't know it was really a
job where you could get paid for it.
Oh, that's fire
-I did do Noah Beck.
-Yeah! I saw that video.
You started that,
right? 'Cause there's--
[Jack] I started it, that's me.
I-I am the fit check guy.
There was some on YouTube,
but it was all like this, you know?
No, no one was doin'
it on TikTok like this.
-Yeah, it was cool.
-Yeah, good meetin' you.
After that, I got 340K
followers on TikTok.
I see you got the ice.
Could I diamond test you?
-Yes, you can.
-Oh, for real?
-[tester beeps]
-Okay, he valid, yessir!
And Snapchat reached out to
me and I signed a deal with them,
they're paying
me too, so it's cool.
It's a win-win.
-Another TikToker!
-[Matt] Another TikToker!
-Alright, so I'm here with
-J Money.
[Jack] How much
does your fit cost?
Probably $800.
Plus, I got all this,
-I mean, it's gotta be, like--
-That's legit?
That's crazy. And what
about the hoverboard?
I haven't seen one of
these in-- since 2016.
So, have you been doing
the social media thing
as, like, a job or a
hobby, a side thing?
[J Money] Uh, I do it
as, like, my full-time job.
[Jack] Mm, yeah, you could
make good money off it.
-[J Money] Yeah. I work hard.
-[Jack] It's cool, yeah.
-Aye, it's a grind, man, it's a grind.
-It's a grind.
-It's not easy.
-You know, you know. You're out here grindin'.
-You know.
-I am. I am, I really am.
It's the LA life, you know?
Peace out. Live it up.
-Aye!
-[Matt] [laughs] The slow fade.
The slow fade.
[Jack] That's fire.
[♪"TWINNEM"
by Coi Leray plays]
Oh, yeah, I like that one. Okay.
[Keshawn] I knew the
sauce, the formula to go viral.
It's in that couples
TikTok page.
we, we like this,
and then I go, and
you drop your head.
[♪"TWINNEM" plays on phone]
-♪And my twinnem ♪♪
-♪Just me and twinnem ♪♪
-♪Yeah, that's my twinnem ♪♪
-[chuckles]
♪Go best friend ♪♪
-[♪songs stops]
-Mm?
Me and Amari have
been datin' a year now,
about to be two.
-[both laughing]
-We're popular on TikTok.
[♪hip-hop song playing]
It's all about the
sound you use.
[Amari] When we
popped out as a couple,
a lot of people shared it,
they sent it to other people.
Our followers say, "You
guys are always so goofy
"and comfortable
with each other.
I want a
relationship like that."
[Keshawn] If it's funny, people
are gonna like it, comment about it.
Start the TikTok algorithm
and it's gonna keep makin' money
if you keep gettin'
followers and fans.
You know, you start
a TikTok to be in that
TV show-movie-type life,
you know, where everything
comes easy for you.
[both giggling]
[Lauren] Who in
here has gone viral?
Show of hands.
Oh, my gosh,
everybody's gone viral.
With, like, Kim K,
like, she got famous
for the sex tape.
And so, like, with
platforms like TikTok
where, like, anybody
can get famous, that's, like,
if you put out content
like Kim Kardashian did,
maybe you'll get famous.
If I could become
a multi-millionaire
with a giant company,
and, like, be as famous
as Kim Kardashian,
I would release my
sex tape, a sex tape.
-She's all set up now.
-[Maren] Her whole life is set up.
She's super famous, she
has, like, millions of dollars.
She has her own company,
so does all of her family.
Her mom definitely, like,
conspired that whole thing.
[Ivy] When you have the most
followers and the most comments,
that's really-- it's
something that we all want.
When you first join Instagram,
they don't know
what you like to see.
So, on your explore
page, they show you, like,
a little bit of everything.
And I saw, like, this
really cute baking account
with, like, beautiful
pastel colors.
And then I saw this one picture
of a model and she was kind of
lifting her shirt up so
you could see her boobs.
And I looked in the comments
section and I remember seeing,
"Don't be shy, take
the shirt off all the way."
And my mom, she's very strict
about the things that I watch.
The sexualization of
women was something
I hadn't totally been
exposed to at the time,
so it was really
weird to see that.
Like, I had realized
that it isn't just,
ya know, fairy tales
and happy people.
Growing up in,
like, this little bubble
that my mom had put me in.
Seeing people, like, judge
other people, even in a nice way,
it was really weird.
"Wow, everyone has an
opinion on this one girl.
"This is a lot
for me to take in.
"Like, what if, what
if I post a picture?
Like, how is everyone
gonna react to that?"
[Jordan] I feel like nobody
really slides up on your story
unless you post, like,
something, like, really revealing.
Like, if you post your face,
they'll kind of just, like, go past it.
But if you, like, post,
like, your boobs with it,
they'll be like, "Oh, my
God, you look so good!"
Or "Heart eyes."
A lot of us don't post
about our passions
because I've
posted, like, pictures,
photography pictures
that I've taken,
even, like, sunset pictures,
those get zero likes.
And so, it's like,
"Why even post that?"
[♪light music playing]
[Sydney] My name is
Sydney and I'm a freshman
at the University of Arizona.
When I was in
high school at Pali,
I would post pictures that
were just not normal to post
for being a minor.
But that's what you see online
and on TV and everywhere,
and that's what's marketed.
Social media's more
about looking good
and appealing to
what other people like.
And I, like, tagged
my Instagram account,
like, so people would be like,
"Oh, she's, like, hot.
I'll follow her Instagram."
Like, I would post on TikTok
to get more followers
on Instagram.
Like, it's, like, a whole cycle.
I think it's brave sitting in
front of a camera at my age
without plastic
surgery. [laughs]
I'm Dani.
I am a mom of two
daughters, Sunny, who's 13,
and then I have
Sydney, who is 18.
I'm a total Facebook
geek. I like Facebook.
Is it okay to say that?
I post a lot.
I've chronicled my life
really starting as a mom.
I definitely pay attention to
which of my posts get likes.
I try to be funny.
I'm pretty political.
But I get a lotta likes
when I post my kids.
You know, I think
people feel like
they are part of your family
when they see
your kids growing up.
And I always put pictures
of them, I'm proud of them.
And, of course,
as they got older,
I would run it by them and
say, "Is this okay to post?"
I got Sydney a phone when
she was, I wanna say, 12.
Pretty much all the
moms in town did that
because we just
wanted to make sure that
we were in touch with
our middle schoolers.
♪♪♪♪
In the beginning, it was fun.
She would do Musical.lys
with her friends.
I got in on the action,
and it felt innocent.
And then, as TikTok emerged,
it just seemed less
about fun and more about,
"What do I look like? How
good are my dance moves?
What cute outfit can I
wear to show off my body?"
You know, obviously, looking
good is very important to her.
She's very fashionable.
She'd get blonde highlights,
and then she
wanted just brunette.
She started getting ear pierces.
They just kept
growing on her ear.
She learned really
quickly about makeup.
They know how to prep
themselves for a good Insta.
And she would--
she'd get upset with me.
But I'd say, you know, I
just-- "Please take that down."
Or, "I just don't think
that's appropriate."
But then I have to, like, check
myself. Like, is this my issue?
It's just a very
different generation.
I don't want to, in any way,
shame her for feeling confident
and body positive,
but it's frightening.
It's frightening to
see how sexualized
some of these images are.
[Sydney] I definitely
have a following,
especially in my
private accounts.
[Dani] Sunny has
been a very good PI.
She discovered Sydney's TikToks,
and Sunny's five years younger.
Sunny tells me,
"Mom, I think some of them
are really inappropriate."
[♪"Money" by Cardi B plays]
I really don't look
at Sydney's TikTok.
I sort of don't wanna
look at Sydney's TikTok.
[♪downbeat music playing]
[Sydney] I've gotten,
like, older men
commenting on my posts.
[♪light music playing]
I think that if you post
certain pictures
on social media,
guys will expect that you
are down to hook up with them
or send them nudes or whatever.
I've had conversations
where I've had to tell a guy like,
"No, ew, I can post
what I wanna post,
that does not mean
that you get anything."
[Dani] You know, a few times
her father and I have sat her down
and we'd give her one of
those "scared straight" talks.
Like, how we didn't
want a phone call
where we found out that our
daughter was dismembered.
Like, girl, there are a lot
of nutty people out there.
And it just-- N-- It
didn't seem to change.
I'm not exactly sure why
Sydney feels the need
to express herself in
that provocative way.
I don't know, I don't
know why I post that stuff.
That's so
embarrassing. [chuckles]
And I think that shows that,
like, I've grown as a person
that I can kind of
admit that and, like--
I think if you cringe
at your old stuff,
you can see that, like,
you've kinda grown,
but it's like, "Ugh."
And it got, like, a few
thousand likes. So, like
[awkward chuckle]
[phone ringing]
[Stella] Hi, this is
Stella from Teen Line.
What's your name?
[speaker] Would it
be alright if I asked you
two more questions
[Alec] You feelin' alright?
[Jonathan] Teen Line is a
teen-to-teen crisis hotline
to provide understanding
and support for teens
for whatever
they're goin' through.
[Cooper] What happened earlier?
[Jonathan] Hey, this is Teen
Line. What's your name?
Hi, Mila. How old are you?
Fourteen. Awesome. And does
that make you in ninth grade?
Eighth grade. What's
going on tonight?
Mm-hm.
Okay. On what website
did you meet him?
[Charlotte] If you're
comfortable telling me,
have you had any of
those thoughts recently?
[Cooper] How old are you?
Thirteen, so, does that
mean you're in 7th grade?
[Jonathan] Well,
thank you for-for calling
and-and for
sharing that with me.
That must've been really scary
to be talkin' to someone
who's that much older.
Especially when you
don't know them, right?
[♪light, serious
music playing]
Yeah, absolutely.
You mentioned that
you don't wanna tell
them what happened.
Was there something specific
that happened with this person?
Okay. And when you say
he was talking inappropriately,
what do you mean by that?
Was he sending
these pictures to you?
Okay.
And-And when he was
giving you his address,
did he say what that was for?
And does he have any
personal information about you?
This is not your fault.
What, what this guy did is,
is completely inappropriate
and-and-and predatory, right?
'Cause he was 20 years
older than you, right?
And so, it's really scary
to be in that-that situation,
and-and what he
did was really wrong,
and so, sometimes it
can be hard to open up
considering the things
that he sent you, right?
And to open up and
to talk to someone.
I think by doing Teen Line,
I've become more
consciously aware
of the effects that
social media has
in the lives of teens.
I think a lot of the issues have also
affected me in some way or another.
But I don't post
a lot of myself.
So, I'm still active,
like, I use it every day,
but I don't necessarily
post about my life
or the things that are
happening to my life.
At school, I developed
and currently run
our video program.
I really enjoy making
mini-documentaries
about current events and issues.
And since I'm a part of
this social media project,
I wanted to interview
other kids from the group
so I could understand how
their mental health is affected.
♪♪♪♪
[Ivy] A lot of people
use social media
to make themselves feel
less alone who are struggling.
It's almost become a sort
of, like, social media club.
Like, "Oh, I'm
depressed, join the club."
I'm officially off the
rails. You should try it.
[Ivy] It almost feels like something
that you wanna be a part of.
Like, you wanna be able
to relate to other people
and that's just become,
like, being mentally ill.
I honestly used to think that
ADHD was just being hyperactive
and then, TikTok told me
that that is not the case.
I'd done my research
into what it actually was
and I was like, "Yeah,
this is definitely me."
[voiceover] ADD
check! Put a finger down
if you pick at your
fingers in any way.
Put a finger down
if you pull on
[Ivy] Some of these
posts are really helpful,
especially to people who
can't afford to, like, go to therapy
or get, like, a
psychiatrist to, like,
diagnose what's wrong with them.
I feel like I need to be
diagnosed with ADHD.
I'm so sure that I have it.
If I was diagnosed, I would
have extra time on tests.
I wanna go to a good
college next year.
So, I have to get gr-- Like,
I have to get good grades.
Well, I mean, I know-- Mom,
I already know everything.
Like, I, I know everything
that needs to be done.
I just need to make
an appointment
with a psychiatrist
to get diagnosed.
Yeah, I'm trying
to get a diagnosis.
But I haven't been able to
'cause, if it's online,
then you have to be 18.
It's to get more time,
but they also, like--
it's not even just tests,
it's, like, on homework too.
Because, like, my biggest
problem was, like, late assignments.
I wonder why. It's because
I-- I just have trouble focusing.
That's, like, one
of the symptoms.
But, um,
no, it's, like, help
with everything I need.
I don't need one to be--
Mom, Mom, Mom,
I don't need pills
and I'm not gonna be
seeing them for a long time,
I just need to
meet with one once.
[Sherry] [on phone] Okay.
[Ivy] My mom doesn't
believe in medication,
she doesn't believe
in psychiatrists.
Are you saying goodbye?
I get the impression
she doesn't believe
in mental illness at all.
I'll talk to you, I'll talk
to you about this later.
-[Sherry] Okay.
-I love you.
-[Sherry] Love you too.
-Bye.
I live in Santa
Monica with my dad.
My parents got separated
right before I started high school.
It was something that I knew
was gonna happen for a long time,
and, like, my older
sibling had gone to college,
so it was kinda, like,
I was the only child.
Finding stability
was really hard.
I move around a lot.
Once, I moved seven
times in seven months.
So, I don't really know how to
make friends and keep them.
[♪music fades out]
Mom!
[Dani] One second, dear!
Mom.
-What's goin' on?
-[Sydney] I can't find an outfit.
[Dani] Um, do you wanna
look in my, in my closet?
[Sydney] No.
What about this? Can push
it down on your shoulders?
Um, I-I wouldn't even know
where to look in this pile.
-Let's see.
-[Sydney] No.
[Dani] I think
just-- I think jeans.
-No. No, I look fat in jeans.
-No, you don't. You do not.
I actually think that's
gonna look really good.
But it's more that you
have to feel good ins--
you know, it's gotta-- you gotta just
feel good, boo, and you gotta be
You got-- It's gotta
start in here, and
Yeah, I'm gonna just try
maybe this with this skirt
-that I'm wearing or jean shorts.
-[Dani] Okay. Yeah, okay.
[both] Okay.
[Sydney] Jean shorts.
[dog barking]
Yeah.
[sing-songy] ♪Gorgeous! ♪♪
-Okay, fine.
-[Dani] Yeah?
Yeah. Yeah, that's good.
[♪light music playing]
[water running]
-[Anaya] That's a cute color.
-[Ella] Thank you.
Oh, your color looks
so good on you.
[Ella] It makes your eyes
look, I don't know, it just makes
-your eyes look really pretty.
-I know, I started doing this in, like, 8th grade
and I haven't went back since 'cause
it just, like, makes my eyes look bigger.
[Ella] Yeah, that's what it is.
And, like, my eyes,
for some reason,
I'm really insecure
about the size of them.
[Ella] Why? They're so pretty.
'Cause I feel like
my eyes are uneven.
[Ella] I think you look
at them too much.
Oh, you know what's
the best for inner eye?
This. This little pen.
I don't like to wear that
much. I'll literally break out
[Cooper] You know, for a
while, I did struggle with, um,
wanting to be thinner
and look different
and match the people I
was seeing on social media.
[Alec] This might be
pretty controversial,
but I feel like one of the
major beauty standards
is you kinda have
to be Caucasian.
Like, sometimes when
I'm on social media,
I try my best to not
compare myself to others,
but then it tends to be when
the dude g-gets all the comments,
it's usually just a white
guy with, like, wavy hair,
colored eyes, tall,
like, pretty shredded.
-[teens chuckling]
-And sometimes I'm just like
"How would life
be if I'm just white?"
I've caught myself
thinking like,
"Ah, dude, what
if I'm just white?"
Like, "Wouldn't it be
better sometimes?"
I feel like that just
make-makes a big difference
if-- just based on the race.
[Dominic] Because I'm brown
and-and I'm a bigger person,
I guess you could call
me a cyber-bully's field day.
Random people will seek me out.
Just yesterday someone
was commenting on my post.
They'll call me a "fat
faggot," for example,
that's one that
they love to use.
It, it took a toll
on me, for sure.
I was missing days of school,
I was not ever able
to get out of bed,
I was in this constant
state of torture.
Social media bullying
is definitely prevalent.
And I know it doesn't
really seem like a big deal,
but it is a huge deal.
And it fuckin' sucks. Yeah.
[Jonathan] One
question I have was,
what's your experience been like
with social media throughout high school
and even into college on a more
general level, just to start with?
So, yeah, I've had really
positive experiences,
but I've also had a lot
of negative experiences.
In 10th grade, my best friend,
he always liked me in a way
that I had never really liked him,
but I was very clear
about that to him,
and I guess he just
couldn't handle that.
He released a "diss track,"
which is basically a rhyming,
almost song-like thing which
had been sent to everybody.
-[♪diss track plays] -♪Look,
how many times have you fucked up? ♪♪
♪Fake as a snake,
you bi-polar ass bitch ♪♪
♪I'm callin' the shots
now, exposin' your ass ♪♪
[Sydney] He slut-shamed me.
♪You got fucked,
you're loose ♪♪
[Sydney] He knew
all of my secrets.
♪Never a girlfriend,
just used for head ♪♪
♪Easy to get,
easy to spread ♪♪
[Sydney] My insecurities.
♪Got a fugly, wide physique,
ninth grade was your peak ♪♪
♪I'ma end you ♪♪
[Sydney] The main way it
was sent was through Snapchat.
[♪unsettling music playing]
Somebody sends
it to their friend,
and then, their friend
shows it to other people.
And it can be, in one click,
sent to a thousand people.
So many people had seen it
before I had even
known about it.
I'm just going to every class
and people are looking
at it on their phones.
-[phone dings]
-They would laugh about it,
and I'd hear people
talking about it.
I felt like everybody
was staring at me
and I just dreaded
going to school.
I was just judged
off of what people
thought they knew about me.
When all this was going on,
did you reach out to friends?
Did you sort of keep
it more to yourself?
Honestly, I fell into a really
dark place during that summer.
I kept everything to myself.
It took a lot to, like,
open up to people
and now, I'm talking
to you about it.
Are there other people
who have gone through stuff
similar to kind of what
I talked to you about?
[chuckles]
-[Bella] The lighting is still really pretty.
-[Holly] It is.
[both] Should we make a TikTok?
-[Holly] Whoa!
-[Bella laughs]
What sound should we use?
[♪"The Boy Is Mine"
by Brandy & Monica plays]
[♪lip-syncing]
I know. [laughs]
I had a crush on a boy.
It wasn't a severe crush,
but just a little freshman crush,
um, and [bleep] told
me that she liked him.
She basically made me
say, like, swear that we both
weren't allowed to get with him.
And, you know, I
was sneaky. [laughs]
I did, um, get with him and
she found out by a friend,
and she was really mad at
me, which was reasonable,
she had every right
to be mad at me.
I lied to her.
Um, but, ya know, then it
started turning into social media.
[Holly] There's just so many
things we could get into about this.
There's so many details,
so many stories of her
going batshit crazy.
I feel like she's made
a couple TikToks.
-[Bella] Yeah, well, she has.
-[Holly] Yeah.
-She, like--
-[Bella] I'm shaking.
[Holly] Her and her sisters,
like, zoomed in on your face.
[Bella] Someone
sends me a TikTok
and it's her and her sister
filming me, uh,
sitting with all the boys
and basically saying I
wanted the whole crew.
[song on TikTok] ♪She want
the whole crew, shawty brave ♪♪
[Bella] Basically saying I wanted
to sleep with all of the guys.
She would just post a
lot of things about me.
Her number one name
was, like, "slut" and "whore."
Like, that was just her
favorite word to use.
People, like, hated me.
I wanted to just hide.
[♪melancholy music playing]
[phone notification]
Did I ever read you
that, like, little notes thing,
like, if I could ever
say it to her, I would.
-No, never.
-Do you want me to?
Yeah, show me.
So, I was like, "You're
so lucky you bullied me
"instead of someone
who isn't as strong
"because the shit you
caused me would genuinely,
"like, make someone
kill themselves.
"Thank you for giving me the
strength to be kind to people
because I would never want anyone
to be put in the same situation as me."
[getting emotional]
[sniffles]
-[softly] Sorry.
-It's okay. It's okay.
If you don't, if you don't wanna
read anymore, you don't have to.
[exhales] Yeah. [laughs]
Not only was it
just social media,
it would just be situations
outside of school.
Like, we were standing
outside of someone's house
and I just hear, like,
15 girls at the same time
screaming "slut,"
screaming "whore."
Everywhere I could go,
like, she would be there.
I didn't go out on the weekends,
and I would see on social media
everything that
people were doing.
And it sucked, but there
wasn't much I could do about it.
[Matt] Have you figured
out your birthday yet?
[Jack] Yeah.
-What are you doing, where?
-It's at a venue.
-In LA? Downtown or?
-Yeah.
Uh, nah, it's in Culver City.
[Matt] Are you doin' it with
someone or by yourself?
[Jack] Uh, with a few friends.
Which parent is signing for it?
I signed for it.
-Oh, yeah?
-Yeah.
They didn't ask for
much detail, just a Zelle.
They don't, like-- And
I'm getting insurance too.
-Oh Yeah.
-They make you get insurance.
So, you know
Got it for a good price too.
-[Matt] How much?
-$2,000.
That's super cheap. Do they know
underage kids are gonna be there?
Uh, yeah.
[laughing]
[Matt] Wow.
[Jack] My friend that's
doin' it with me split it,
so I only put in $1,000,
and they put in $1,000.
-Who are you doin' it with?
-This girl named Scarlett.
She has the same birthday as me.
[Matt] Are you guys
gonna make money,
or it's just a celebration?
[Jack] Probably free for our
friends, but for randoms, money.
[Matt] [laughs] Yeah,
you gotta pack the house.
It's gonna be off the chain.
I know. I just hope it
doesn't get shut down.
In, uh, 2020, my friend and I,
we wanted to throw a
party at my dad's house,
which is at an apartment
complex in Marina del Rey.
We rented out the
lobby or whatever.
I'd say there was
about 200 people there,
which was pretty cool and
we charged, like, $10 each.
And I guess, at the time, we were
just doin' it kind of for, like, the--
you could say "clout" or just,
like, "attention" or just "fun."
We didn't really think of it
in a business perspective,
and we found out you could
make a lotta money for that.
So, I guess that's when the money
and business mindset just started.
The friend groups
have their own parties
and if you're not
in that friend group,
then you don't go to that party.
So, it's really hard
to meet people that
you're not friends
with because, in class,
people don't really,
people don't really care.
They, like, have their friends and
they wanna stick to those people,
they're not really interested
in making new friends.
[Cooper] Yeah, I mean, there
was even a party last night
that I wasn't invited to.
And it was just, like,
everyone was posting it
and I was, like,
home with my sister,
and I definitely felt FOMO.
Honestly, the FOMO
thing, it's FOMO, right?
That's, that's a real thing.
Like, I feel that sometimes.
Like, if I can't go out,
like, I got somethin',
I'll be like, "Damn."
I'll see on my
Snapchat, group chat,
my friends will be, like, at this,
like, fire function or somethin'.
[Lauren] And did anybody hear
about Jack and Scarlett's party?
[Scarlett] Yeah, I got a lot
of, like, people I never talk to
text me and be like, "Hey, I
heard you're having a party,
like, can I come or
can I bring people?"
Which is just, like, fake 'cause
I, like, have never talked to them,
so it's, like, weird.
I wanted to throw a
party with Jack Schwartz
because Jack has, like, a ton
of friends, a ton of connections.
[Jack] Definitely every
kid in LA knew about it.
I'm pretty well-known, I
guess, on the West Side of LA.
Everyone knows Jack.
I kinda did the marketing
side of the party,
which got a lotta people there.
I don't want high
schoolers to think, like,
it's a "random rager."
I want it to have that more,
like, "exclusive" feeling.
So, we made an
Instagram account.
We posted on our
Instagram stories,
and our Snapchat
stories, it got hype,
and we didn't accept
everyone at the beginning.
Each day, we accepted
a few more people.
They were texting me like, "Yo,
can you accept me to your party?"
And then, the week
of, we told everyone.
And that's just
when it went crazy.
The day of, it was the
most talked about party,
most anticipated.
[partygoer] Cash or
Venmo! Cash or Venmo!
[Jack] And we had a line,
like, goin' down the block.
Even if it, like, it wasn't
my party and I went to it,
I would be like, "Damn,
this is a fire party."
Jack is the GOAT!
Jack is the GOAT.
[Jack] We didn't really
wanna, like, promo that like,
"Yo, like, bring your own alc."
We just said no alc is allowed
if it's "visible," like
with quotations.
But I guess people kinda
found ways to sneak past that.
[Scarlett] A lotta people
pregamed, definitely.
Like, a lot of kids already
showed up intoxicated.
[♪upbeat music playing]
The mosh pit
was, like, sweaty,
and, like, it was just
so claustrophobic,
which was definitely,
like, Euphoria vibes.
And the drinking, the smoking.
♪♪♪♪
One of, like, the main goals
is to hook up with someone.
Before parties, they're like,
"Who are you tryna get with?"
People just find a room.
I had a goal, and I actually
accomplished the goal.
[partygoer] Where
we at right now?
We at Jack's
motherfuckin' party!
-[partygoer] Where we at?
-Aye, we lit as fuck!
[Jack] Everyone was kind
of just, like, showing off.
Like, "Oh, I'm at
Jack's birthday party."
♪♪♪♪
[Bella] I went to
Jack Schwartz's party
and the first thing I see
when I walk in is her.
I know, like, they
don't like each other.
One of 'em bullied
one of 'em at school.
[bleep] bullied
Bella, but I don't know
'cause [bleep] is, like, one
of the nicest people ever.
At least to me.
[Bella] Anne and I go
to the bathroom together.
And we walk out,
and she's waiting in
line for the bathroom,
and she just screams
The party goes on.
I was dancing.
And she's walking up behind
me and she pushes me.
Pretty hard too. Wasn't
just, like, a light push.
Like, she pushed me pretty hard.
♪♪♪♪
All of my friends
were just like,
"No, don't, don't talk to her.
Like, it's not worth
it. Whatever."
[phone notifications]
How's it goin', guys?
How's it goin', guys?
We're here. Vlog squad.
Vlog squad. I'm in the mic.
Happy birthday to the girl.
-What's your name?
-I'm Bella. Hi.
Shout out Jack Schwartz, man.
-Shout out Jack Schwartz!
-He put this all together.
-I love you. Mwah! I love you, Jack!
-Shout out Jack! Shout out Jack!
[Jack] It definitely
got outta hand.
Some kid was, like, swinging
from the second balcony.
There was one kid
who apparently OD'd.
That's scary, that's scary.
That's also why we purchased
insurance for the party.
Just for stuff like that.
'Cause if something were
to happen, God forbid,
then, like, we wouldn't
wanna be liable.
I did see a boy,
like, throwing up.
Like, he was on his side and there
was just throw-up coming out of him.
Someone told me he was foaming.
[Jack] When he got sick, he
was kinda layin' on the floor.
He was passed out. His
friends were tryna wake him up
and he was, like, he
was just dazing in and out.
Can you guys not film this?
And then some girl was like,
"Yeah, we gotta call the hospital."
We all agreed, like,
"Yeah, this guy gotta go."
We don't want him
to potentially die.
So, we called the
hospital, called 911.
I was like, "Aye, like, the
party can't get rolled over him."
Rolled meaning, like,
they come, catch everyone,
and then, we get in trouble.
So, some kids, like, dragged
him a few blocks away
and then called the ambulance.
[Jack] They didn't shut
down the party, luckily.
And at that part of the
party, it was just chaotic.
[partygoers yelling]
♪♪♪♪
[sirens wailing]
His friends got him
in the ambulance.
They're cool kids and they didn't
wanna, like, snitch on the party.
[partygoer] Everybody
inside right now!
[Jack] So, they just said,
like, they had no clue,
like, they just
found him like this.
[sirens wailing]
So, it was crazy.
[♪"Fomo" by Max Mill playing]
♪We've all had Fomo ♪♪
♪That time you
were a no-show ♪♪
♪Now you lookin'
at the photos ♪♪
♪Mad you didn't go,
stayed your ass at home ♪♪
♪Bet I hit it on
the nose, tho ♪♪
♪I rarely ever get Fomo ♪♪
♪I be glad I didn't go ♪♪
♪Glad I didn't go, I
don't wanna know ♪♪
♪Don't miss your boat
that's what the most say ♪♪
♪Drive myself,
finna fit the Jose ♪♪
♪Found myself at your
door like Postmates ♪♪
♪The oldest habits
the hardest to break ♪♪
♪We can run it back and
get it poppin' like Pompeii ♪♪
♪Afraid of missin' out on
every moment I can't make ♪♪
♪Say oh Melo,
that's rudimentary ♪♪
♪Close that door,
there's no reentry ♪♪
♪We've all had Fomo ♪♪
♪That time you
were a no-show ♪♪
♪Yeah, you lookin'
at the photos ♪♪
♪Glad you didn't go,
stayed your ass at home ♪♪
♪Bet I hit it on
the nose, tho ♪♪
♪I rarely ever get Fomo ♪♪
♪I be glad I didn't go ♪♪
♪Glad I didn't go, I
don't wanna know ♪♪
[♪song concludes]