Fantasy or fakery? The curious world of influencers and their followers

The other day I came home to find an influencer surrounded by her photography team on my track. I can’t say I was thrilled to see her sitting on my neighbour’s orange crates using his lush fruit as props in the shots. Might it have been politer to knock on the door first and ask him if it was okay to do so?
The girl was dressed in flimsy wear on a very chilly and rainy day but with the bright lights, white board and filters the images would no doubt look spectacularly sunny because it’s all make-believe, isn’t it? No one wants to see reality from these social media celebrities. Fantasy is the name of the game and living the ersatz dream.

It got me scanning the biggest names in celebrity influencer land on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X. Good old Cristiano Ronaldo is up there with 836m followers, closely followed by actress, Selena Gomez, with 582m. Recently, she posted a cringeworthy and much derided post on X, crying when Donald Trump sent illegal immigrants packing around the US. While she lambasted the move, offering her solidarity with the victims, it transpired that most were hardened criminals and rapists. She quickly removed the much-lampooned video of herself shedding inconsolable tears, but it was too late as many had already downloaded it for their endless amusement. A huge embarrassment all round!

Surprisingly, beating all the other big celeb names is Mr Beast, the biggest draw on YouTube with 563.6m followers. He is far more interesting and compelling than all the others put together. Earning squillions each year, he sets his followers bizarre challenges for big money prizes and stages amazing giveaways. In fairness, he also does a lot of scary challenges himself and gives a huge amount of money to those in need, especially in countries such as Africa. Once you watch one of his videos on YouTube it’s hard to stop which is why he’s such a massive global sensation.
As for the girl on my track, it transpires that she and her chums are staying close by and will no doubt be filming at multiple locations with their sunny wardrobe of tiny tops and sheer cotton dresses. I bet they could kick themselves that they chose this week to visit the island. It’s been one of the moodiest weather periods for some time.

Desperate times for Meghan

Could I bring myself to watch the new Netflix lifestyle show, From Meghan with Love? In a nutshell, no: I chickened out. However, I did at least read enough one-star reviews to know that the first episode had bombed spectacularly, and that I hadn’t missed a work of magnitude and genius.
Actually, I almost felt sorry for the Duchess as viewers posting reviews online described it as a one-woman ego trip and actually, far worse. I don’t think it helped that the show was not filmed at her own home and that all the fresh vegetables and fruit were apparently brought in and not cultivated in her own garden. Accusations of fakery abound and if the ratings are as bad as they appear to be, this may well be the last foray for Meghan with this particular streaming giant. Maybe she should stick to making jam.

Lotus eaters

While some shows bomb, others thrive. My current guilty pleasure is White Lotus, series three, an ingenious creation by genius writer and director, Mike White. If truth be told it was the main reason I originally signed up for HBO. Brilliantly savage in its portrayal of privileged uber-rich white Americans, each series of the satirical comedy drama is always set in an exclusive and deluxe resort location, this time, Thailand.

With beautiful and artful photography, the whole dreamy set is so inviting, jarring deliciously with the dark emerging stories surrounding the central characters, the guests staying at the resort. Despite their luxurious lifestyles and seemingly limitless funds, few of these spoilt creatures are happy and remain blissfully unaware of other’s struggles and sacrifice. The repellent yet compelling characters are further contrasted with the humble, hardworking employees who have to do their every bidding. There are stellar performances by all but so far, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs and Aimee Lou Wood, have me hooked. It’s laugh out loud funny and yet it has you cringing, gritting your teeth and covering your eyes. We’re only on episode two but it’s hotting up superbly, building momentum towards a customary bloody and disturbing finale.

Drat, a rat!

Apparently Birmingham is overrun with rodents, with some claiming that rats as big as cats are lurking around the main station, and have been seen shopping around the aisles in local Tesco stores. It reminds me of the time, many moons ago, when as deranged teens, my sister and I went backpacking in Eastern Europe and Romania at the time of the Ceausescus. I remember that Bucharest station was awash with the most enormous rats I had ever seen but none of the locals seemed to be remotely bothered, probably because they had far bigger fish to fry. Let’s face it, in a country run by a dictator where many were starving and rationed, a plump rat for the cooking pot might have seemed like an attractive option.

I feel for the people of Birmingham though. You’d surely expect your council to control the situation especially when you’re paying local taxes. It seems that the main problem is with rubbish strikes and fly tipping, but the rat epidemic seems to be on a much larger scale. The truth is that all major cities are crammed full of the wily little blighters but luckily they’re not always easily spotted. If anyone were to venture underground and hang around the sewers they might be in for a ratty surprise though.