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April 10, 2023
BuzzFeed News reporter McNeal debuts with an entertaining inquiry into the not-so-secret lives of social media celebrities. She explores “what it really feels like to be an influencer” through profiles of three “content creators”: lifestyle blogger Caitlin Covington, Fat Girl Running blogger Mirna Valerio, and Mormon “mommy blogger” Shannon Bird. To illustrate the hard work required to succeed as an influencer, McNeal details how Covington struggled to break into the magazine industry before creating her own fashion blog that she laboriously grew until she had enough clout to launch a clothing line and secure brand partnerships. The author suggests that influencers can affect positive change and tells how Valerio used her platform to push Lululemon to improve their plus-size sports apparel options. Describing the complexities that accompany leading a public life, McNeal discusses how Bird’s blog posts, which feature her five children, raise tough questions about whether parents should be putting their kids in the spotlight, but the author remains generally positive toward her subjects and praises Bird for showing “how motherhood is messy and complicated.” McNeal’s compassionate profiles add nuance to influencer stereotypes, and behind-the-scenes details intrigue (successful influencers hire teams of assistants who have to learn their bosses’ emoji usage to respond to direct messages in their voice). It’s a revealing look behind the selfie camera.