While the internet is a wonderful place to socialize, wind down at, and even make money out of, it isn’t entirely sunshine and rainbows.
Just like most other things in life, the internet has a negative side to it too. It is lurking with people with malicious intent such as hackers or cybercriminals. If you want a visual representation of the dark side of the internet, then there are some seriess and movies that you can binge on for a different perspective. In this article, I’m sharing some of my favorites with you, below:
- The Social Network
This list would just feel incomplete without mentioning The Social Network. Though not directly, this movie indirectly shows a darker side of the internet as it is a tale of greed and betrayal.
The movie is about Mark Zuckerberg and how he created Facebook with his friend-turned-rival Eduardo Saverin. Both Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield did a brilliant job of portraying both the characters.
I remember watching this movie and staying on the edge of my seat until the last scene. I was actually sad to see how things turned out for Eduardo (not going to spill here). But it’s actually weird how the internet can bring out the worst in you, even among friends.
- Unfriended: Dark Web
The dark web is a sinister reality of the internet. The internet that we use every day is just at the surface level. There are layers below which get darker and darker (literally) until you finally reach the dark web.
Unfriended: Dark Web released in the year 2018, but even today, the movie makes me uneasy as I watch it. It is about a young man who finds a laptop in a café and brings it home. He eventually finds out that the laptop is connected to the dark web. Ultimately, the owner of the laptop begins stalking him and threatening him, making the movie tenser as it progresses.
- Mr. Robot
There’s a high chance you might already know about this because of all the memes about it, but Mr. Robot is the show that you shouldn’t miss out on. It is about a young man who is a cybersecurity agent by day and a hacker by night, but a vigilante hacker.
Think of him like Batman or Spiderman, except that he carries out his business on the internet instead of in the city. This way, he gets into trouble with a lot of powerful people from all over the world. The series really opened up new horizons to hacking (ethical hacking) for me, sort of putting me on edge every time I use the internet.
- Missing
Online dating isn’t as harmless as we all think it is, it comes with its own potential dangers. The best example of that can be seen in the 2022 thriller Missing, which is about a teenage girl going on a search for her mother who disappeared soon after an international trip with her boyfriend that she met online.
Eventually, it turns out that her mother’s boyfriend isn’t who he claims to be which makes it an interesting turn of events. This is the kind of movie I wouldn’t suggest “missing” out on, so watch it the first chance you get!
Just like most other thriller movies, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat as well. I remember when I was watching this two years ago, the movie got so tense that I was biting my nails and I don’t even have a habit of doing that!
- Not Okay
You can be famous for all the right and the wrong reasons on the internet. In 2022, we were blessed with this wonderful movie called Not Okay which is about a young woman who dreams of becoming famous on the internet.
Eventually, she gets what she wants, just not in the way that she expected it. With time, she becomes the most hated person on the internet, with hate flowing in from left, right, and center.
However, this movie is also a comedy which is why it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. It is loosely based on reality though, the people of the internet can either love you or they can hate you into oblivion.
A Little Bonus Tip
In real life, the internet can be a scary place too. Even though all these elements are exaggerated in movies and TV shows, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. There are people out there who can hack into your sensitive data, catfish you, subject you to phishing and scams, and a lot more.
Therefore, it is important that you keep yourself safe on the internet and the first step to do that is to have a secure internet connection. My paranoia about safety on the internet came to an end when I got one of the Spectrum internet packages after knowing that it offers an automatic antivirus and an online firewall to protection against malicious content.
Other than that, always surf wisely because your vigilance will keep you protected at all times. Happy surfing!
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