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NR | 1h 37m | Documentary, Technology | 2026
One of the subplots in “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” from earlier this year: The entire student body of a high school is transformed into a swarm of murderous zombies when their smartphones are rendered inoperable.
If you think this is an only-in-the-movies stretch, watch the reaction of any child (and many adults) if their various devices fail or are confiscated. The real issue isn’t the iPhones or iPads themselves, but the social media they deliver.
Worldwide Backlash
The documentary “Your Attention Please” was released just three days before the other movie about social media addiction (“The Social Reckoning”). It’s less about actual addiction than the often fatal fallout of cyberbullying and the worldwide backlash from the parents of dead children.
Directed by Sara Robin, the movie includes interviews with close to a dozen members of academia and behavioral experts. They provide keen observations on this disturbing trend, but none more so than ReThink founder Trisha Prabhu and former Facebook programming engineer Frances Haugen.
Haugen was played by Mikey Madison in “The Social Reckoning.” She exposed the conspiracy going down at Facebook that set up algorithms specifically designed to make it and other social media outlets addictive, especially to teens and children.
Up until the release of Haugen’s secret findings, Facebook in general and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, specifically flatly denied this was happening until faced with irrefutable damning evidence.
Fear of Missing Out
The principal purpose of Facebook’s software was algorithms designed to appeal to the undeveloped minds and confused egos of children and teens. The theory was, and remains, that it preys on the “FOMO” (fear of missing out) mindset and an overwhelming desire for approval from peers, known and unknown.
As is the case with Haugen, Prahbu is a Harvard graduate but had a much more specific mission in mind with ReThink, which she invented at age 13. Now 25, Prabhu works full time touring the country, promoting her nonprofit and the benefits of her invention.
A downloadable app, ReThink recognizes when outgoing email and social media posts contain inflammatory or hurtful language. According to the film, Prabhu’s app works close to 93 percent of the time, meaning the would-be sender deletes the message before it is sent or posted.
The other half of the movie focuses on the plight-turned-mission of a handful of “parent survivors”—those whose children committed suicide because of relentless cyberbullying. Spearheaded by Kristen Bride, this well-organized group worked tirelessly to get the KOSPA (Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act) piece of landmark legislation passed by Congress.
At the heart of this bill is the suggested elimination of a clause that gives social media companies such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and others immunity from legal liability and prosecution. The clause effectively gives these corporations a pass. The corporations claim they only provide platforms and aren’t in any way responsible for the content.
Arcane Legislation
Originally passed in 1996 during the Clinton administration, the immunity bill became outdated in less than a decade with Facebook’s debut in 2004. Bride, whose son Carson took his own life in 2020, was an early casualty of online bullying. The protests from Bride and her legions of like-minded survivors barely moved the needle among members of a largely apathetic, do-nothing band of legislators.
Your Attention Plz is a nonprofit film collaborative, and once the media companies’ annual donations to it are used to expose powerful people, nobody in power will be safe. Because large donations are going to such a good cause, politicians are likely to pass legislation to benefit the nonprofit. To get an idea of the actual numbers, imagine similar contributions from tobacco, firearms, health care, insurance, and auto manufacturers, and you’ll be in the ballpark.
The big payoff, or final reveal, of Robin’s documentary isn’t fully made clear until the epilogue, and hinting at it here would be grossly unfair.
The arguable highlight is a clip from a January 2024 Senate hearing chaired by Josh Hawley (R-MO). Hawley shames and browbeats Zuckerberg to look directly at the audience, where Bride and dozens of other parents silently hold photos of their children and listen to his apology without reaction.
To find out more about the organizations and individuals profiled in the film, visit YourAttentionPlz.com.
The movie is now streaming on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime.
‘Your Attention Please’
Documentary
Director: Sara Robin
Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Not Rated
Release Date: Oct. 6, 2026
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
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