Gabriel Basso is sounding the alarm on the impact social media is having on human connection.
“The Night Agent” star, who wrote, directed and stars in the upcoming psychological thriller “Iconoclast,” recently reflected on the dangers of influencer culture and online obsession — themes that sit at the center of his directorial debut.
“I just think people have now gotten in a habit of trading in connection or the potential connection next to them for controllable connections all over the world,” Basso told Fox News Digital at the Tribeca Festival.
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“And I think it’s a sort of illusion that we’re all growing closer.”
In “Iconoclast,” Basso plays Connor, a lonely young man whose fixation on a live-streaming influencer spirals into something far darker. The story taps into a growing cultural obsession with parasocial relationships, online validation and influencer worship.
And according to Basso, the problem runs deeper than people realize.
“I have a bunch of problems with social media, but that I think is the sort of foundation of, like, you don’t get to control relationships. And in real life it’s impossible because it’s a real human being.”
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The actor argued that social media creates the illusion of intimacy while removing the unpredictability that comes with genuine human connection.
“But I used the analogy earlier — it’s like from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ when the Beast is like, ‘Show me Belle,’ and he pulls up a photo of Belle… it’s magic, but he can see her… that feels like an invasive thing,” he continued.
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Basso compared modern social platforms to a window into someone’s life — one that allows users to observe others without any real relationship or interaction taking place.
“I think now social media has turned into a glimpse into someone’s life and the energy isn’t reciprocal… you feel sort of like a voyeur. It’s weird.”
Basso, best known for leading Netflix’s global hit “The Night Agent,” makes an ambitious leap behind the camera with “Iconoclast.”
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The psychological thriller slowly builds tension before evolving into something more unsettling, anchored by Basso’s performance as a man consumed by an unhealthy fixation.
Basso’s advice for young people feeling pressured to build a personal brand online was far less nuanced.
“Stop,” he said.
The actor argued that social media’s power exists largely because people collectively agree to give it value.
“It’s like that whole breaking the cycles of trauma thing… Or like our currency, it’s only valuable because we all have agreed it is. It just takes enough people to say this is not valuable, and it won’t be.”
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Basso added that many users already know social media isn’t making them happier.
“And I think a lot of people online are aware that intrinsically they’re miserable. Or like within social media, you’re not actually connecting to people and I think they just can’t let themselves stop. And if they just stop, it’s over. And it can’t come get you… just put the phone down, you know? Delete it.”
The film also stars Rain Spencer, who praised Basso’s ability to balance multiple responsibilities on set.
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“I had never acted alongside someone who was also the director before, so it was really cool and inspiring to watch him switch… it’s completely different parts of your brain,” Spencer said.
“So, it was really cool to watch him like turn on the actor brain and off… and run the whole [thing]. I mean, and he wrote it… it’s just inspiring, it’s really inspiring.”
Spencer described the film as both emotionally challenging and thought-provoking.
When Fox News Digital asked Spencer to sum up “Iconoclast” in a few words, she called it “bleak, hopeful” before adding that it is ultimately “isolating.”
With “Iconoclast,” Basso turns a harsh spotlight on the influencer era — and delivers a warning about what can happen when admiration becomes obsession and scrolling replaces real human connection.
