There’s a lot to be said about the internet that much smarter people have already spoken about in much more eloquent ways, but that won’t stop us from giving it a good honest try. There’s all the bad stuff that comes with the World Wide Web like spam emails, the constant need to compare yourself to how others present themselves on social media and, you know, the general feeling of unease knowing that this incredibly powerful technology can (and has been) used for the pursuit of evil and destruction.

However, there is also an abundance of cute cat videos, games to get lost in and security knowing that the world is now more connected in ways never before seen in human history, of course, but it’s safe to say that we could all use a little extra time away from our (many) screens and devices. To help you reduce your screen time we’ve picked out some flicks that paint our digital worlds as less than ideal, which might inspire you to pick up a book instead.

INGRID GOES WEST This 2017 black-comedy drama directed by Matt Spicer explores the dark side of influencer culture, starring Aubrey Plaza in the titular role as an insecure young woman hellbent on becoming friends and attaining the same level of clout as popular influencer Taylor (played by Elizabeth Olsen). Ingrid's obsession with achieving social media fame is (to put it lightly) incredibly unhealthy, with her methods soon becoming desperate and increasingly bizarre. Ingrid Goes West explores how social media facilitates an endless appetite for shock and perfection, with the movie’s characters happy to commodify their existences and partake in self-destructive behaviour so that they can reach peak engagement and maybe land a lucrative brand deal. The film takes us on a wild journey, and we reckon this is one of Aubrey Plaza’s best roles to date.

FEELS GOOD MAN If you were kicking it online back in 2016 during the height of the U.S. election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, odds are that you might recognise the image of this cartoon frog. ‘Pepe the Frog’ is a smiling and happy-go-lucky character created by cartoonist Matt Furie, whose legacy would soon far exceed his original purpose after the notorious site, 4Chan, gets a hold of him. This movie examines internet culture, the social currency of memes, their real-world ramifications and Matt Furie’s attempts to take back his creation and cleanse Pepe of his unsavoury infamy as a hate symbol. Feels Good Man is a documentary that adds nuance to the niche of internet memes, making it an incredible film that everyone from internet-savvy zoomers and naïve boomers alike.  

SPREE Starring Joe Keery of Stranger Things fame and shot primarily through car dashcams, CCTV footage and Instagram Live reels, this horror-comedy holds a magnifying lens on the lengths one is willing to go to achieve internet fame. Joe Keery plays the character of Kurt, a young man who works as a rideshare driver and makes YouTube videos in his spare time – despite having little to no followers. Egged on by a new influx of followers who do not have his best interests at heart, Kurt soon goes on to commit violent acts in the name of views and things just get more bonkers from there. The film understands how the internet works and manages to depict the dark side of social media in increasingly realistic and horrifying ways, showing how the new and transactional need for attention has disturbing consequences.

INSIDE Unless you happened to be living under a rock for the past few years, you’ve probably already watched, re-watched and added countless of the songs from this Netflix special into your playlists already, but we reckon that it deserves just one more sit-down watch. It might not be a movie in the traditional sense (it’s more of a collection of skits, songs and Bo Burnham’s stream of consciousness), but what it has to say about the current state of the world and the internet’s role in shaping it is always on our minds. We recommend skipping straight to the “Welcome to the Internet" if you really want a hard dose of how the world has been forever changed by this technology – and not necessarily for the better.

HER Now for something a tad more heartbreaking, this Spike Jonze-directed science-fiction romance drama stars Joaquin Phoenix in the not-too-distant future as lonely man Theodore, who soon begins an authentic romantic relationship with an AI virtual assistant voiced by Scarlett Johansson, Samantha. It sounds silly to say, but if we were to be with any Siri-esque system, we hope that it would have Scarlett Johansson’s voice too (we’d fall in love with them in a heartbeat). It examines the human need for connection while the loneliness epidemic rages on, and how our love for the devices we use daily might extend into something a bit more serious if we’re not too careful.