A review by andeedevore
Swipe Up For More!: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers by Stephanie McNeal

4.0

This was more interesting than I expected! I was a bit hesitant to pick this one up because I don't follow any bloggers or first generation influencers, and therefore thought I wouldn't fully grasp the concept, but McNeal does a great job of providing the necessary background to help the reader understand the rise and dominance of influencer culture. (I was quickly sucked in, and taken aback, when I found out that one of the influencers McNeal interviews, Shannon Bird, lives in my own backyard!) This is going to sound dumb, but I did not realize how influential influencers actually are. I have always scoffed a bit at the idea of influencers (what do they do, anyway?), but I found my respect increase as I learned about how much work goes into curating and maintaining a successful online presence. I also found that some of my negative perceptions of influencers were validated in this work, especially in regard to the exploitation of children for financial gain. Overall, McNeal's work is transparent and fair, and ultimately it proves that influencers matter and are worthy of our discussion.