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The Accidental Influencer

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What to expect

‘STOP scrolling right now and buy this book instead!’ SCARLETT CURTIS

‘I’ve never laughed so hard.’ DAISY BUCHANAN

’Brilliantly funny and bloody brave.’ DAWN O’PORTER

I thought I could have lots of followers, without needing followers.
I thought I could monetise my account without selling out.
I thought that I was different, that I wasn’t like other girls.
But I was, and that’s why I had to stop.

When Bella Younger spawned Deliciously Stella – her hilarious and daring social media alter ego – she wanted to prove once and for all that Instagram does not equal reality. Within weeks, she’d gone viral and begun her very own #influencerlife. Shoot. Post. Repeat.

In 2016, Bella gained 75,000 followers overnight, and hundreds of likes a minute. Soon she was being paid thousands of pounds to beat up a cake for the ’gram, attend ludicrously lavish influencer gifting events and was dropping emoji-bombs left, right and centre. But even as the constant rush of notifications fuelled her endorphins, life among the Instafamous began to take a toll. As Bella’s carefree presence flourished online, her health began to spiral offline, culminating in a stint at The Priory for social media addiction.

Should she have undertaken a month-long run of stand-up comedy immediately after she was discharged? Probably not, but the pressure to be ‘on’ and online was all-consuming – and she had followers to please after all…

Funny, frank and fearless, The Accidental Influencer is a relatable story of the precarious balancing act between our online and offline selves – and the truth behind the staged shots, spon-con, and the coveted but ever-elusive blue tick.

Critics Review

'Brilliantly funny and bloody brave' - Dawn O' Porter

'I've never laughed so hard as I have when I'm reading Bella. In an overwhelming, claustrophobic online world, this woman is a summer breeze coming through an open window. Her words make the internet - and the universe - a better place, which is no mean feat.' - Daisy Buchanan

'Accidental Influencer somehow manages to be both an incredibly important text on the phenomena of Instagram culture and a hilarious, un-put-down-able collection. It will make you think, laugh and want to throw your phone into the nearest black hole. Bella has spent the past few years acting as the dream undercover influencer spy and Accidental Influencer talks more honestly and accurately about this world than anything I've read to date! STOP scrolling right now and buy this book instead! It will change your mind, your life and hopefully your Instagram feed.' - Scarlett Curtis

User Reviews

Book 2.0
Narration 5.0
2.0
5.0
Beautifully narrated by the author. I don't really know what to say about the book to be honest. I thought it was very well written, but I kept getting a feeling that bothered me that "Shame poor me" icky feeling. Yes it's agreed that the author struggled and continues to manage and maintain her mental health and that deserves every ounce of respect from everyone, but she was able to do that from the privileged position of The Priory and private health care. I found this to be unrelatable for the average working or even middle class person who have to fight extremely hard to have their children or themselves seen by a mental health professional on the NHS. I must congratulate the author for covering this in her book stating that the NHS is underfunded and the majority of people do not have private health care. Equally it is hard to relate to someones life experience when they are able to retreat from their home and job to live with their parents in Scotland. And that's without adding the inherited grandparents house holiday and the parents Majorca home. I kept coming back to the opinion that she had an out, all along she had an out. She knew what was making her mental health deteriorate, she knew what could help improve her mental health, walking away from Instagram. That's the fix right there screaming at you while you read "stop, walk away". This is a very well educated person who had offers of other types of work at her finger tips, she chooses to stay on Instagram knowing that it's destroying her mental health, I for the life of me can't understand that choice. She knows many people who can open doors for her job wise because of her private school education, her family and friends circle. She's a journalist she has a career to fall back on. I so want to like this book as I think it's well written and it must have taken courage for the author to be so open about her life but equally it made me want to shout "for the fuckin love of god just stop please just stop".
Eviecatmum 19/02/2025

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