“Hype House” is the new series broadcast on the Netflix platform since 7 January 2022. Defined by some as a docuseries and by others as reality TV, the series aims to be unique and innovative by showing internet personalities on screen. Indeed, the name of the series comes from a collective of young influencers whose daily lives are the subject of this documentary series.
Hype House is a collective created in December 2019 that brings together, in a luxurious house in Los Angeles, twenty young influencers who gained their fame mainly on the social network TikTok. The collective’s aim is to bring together the most popular influencers so that they work together and increase their creativity, content and visibility. #hypehouse now has more than 100 million views, and in December 2020 the collective was able to become the owner of a mansion. Far from being the only “collaboration house”, also called a “content house” (a house in which several content creators live and work together), Hype House is, however, the first to be the subject of a reality show in which the influencers’ “behind the scenes” are revealed. The announcement of the series in April 2021 had in fact caused a lot of buzz. On the one hand among fans impatient to see the daily life (usually little revealed) of their favourite influencers, and on the other among Netflix subscribers who do not understand how the platform could have approved this broadcast (some are said to have even threatened to cancel their subscription) .
The broadcast of this series inevitably raises questions about teenagers’ idealisation of social networks, and above all of the influencers who make a “career” there. Indeed, the young cast of this series, aged 15 to 22, are young TikTok users whose lives changed overnight thanks to the circulation of their content. This new series is therefore seen as an “ambitious and courageous project”, insofar as “web stars are becoming small-screen stars” , featuring young actors and aimed at a similar audience. The programme is also “recommended for ages 13 and over” and the target audience is teenagers and TikTok users. However, while the “13+” recommendation is consistent with the regulations in force regarding the minimum age for signing up to social networks (13 with parental consent), it is obvious that some TikTok users are much younger. Indeed, the app quickly established itself as the most downloaded platform in 2019, with more than 800 million users. It is one of the most used apps in the world among 16–24-year-olds and the favourite mobile app of 8–13-year-olds . Moreover, it is acknowledged that in France half of girls between 11 and 14 are on TikTok , and in 2019 the app was ordered to pay a fine of 5.7 million dollars for illegally collecting minors’ personal data . It is surprising to see that Netflix is broadcasting content encouraging the use of such apps, after the success of its documentary “The Social Dilemma” (“derrière nos écrans de fumée”), which dealt precisely with the power, dangers and excesses of social networks .
A few weeks after its release, what impact has this series had on its young audience?
Reviewers of the series are in the end fairly unanimous in denouncing the poverty and sadness of what is revealed in this reality show. The daily life of the young influencer stars seems dull, meaningless, and even depressing: “it is indeed a depressing portrait Nobody seems to be having a good time. The kids are constantly stressed by the prospect of being cancelled and by the lashings of toxic fans” .
Far from worshipping influencers and their lifestyle, the series ultimately has the opposite effect: the internet stars seem vulnerable, demotivated, depressed and completely disconnected from the real world. The series thus unwittingly lifts the veil on the fantasies of dream lives nurtured by young TikTok users. Some reviewers even question the purpose of the series: “It’s almost as if the show had been created with the explicit aim of convincing teenagers that being famous on social media sucks” .
While Netflix announced “A glimpse of the most talked-about stars on social media as they navigate love, fame and friendship while creating content and living together”, reviewers agree that the only interesting thing about the series is the unveiling of this aberrant fame, devoid of meaning, joy and value.
Charlotte Labossière
https://homemedia.fr/hype-house-casting-date-de-sortie-critique-et-bande-annonce/
https://www.3-6-9-12.org/en/blog/behind-our-smokescreens-netflix-social-media/
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/hype-house-netflix-review
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22877013/hype-house-netflix-show
