Break the Internet by Olivia Yallop review – the anxiety of influence

In the bizarre world of the influencer, set out here in engaging style, the line between leisure and labour is increasingly blurred

For people like me, sitting here quaintly typing into a Word document for some half-forgotten old thing called a newspaper, it's easy to be dismissive of influencers. But, as I've learned from Olivia Yallop's book, not only is that limiting my understanding of where we are as a society (and where we're heading), my ignorance is partly the fault of the very industry in which I work. Journalists and publications are very reluctant to promote the influencer industry," complains one of Yallop's interviewees, a makeup and style Instagrammer. If you scroll down the Daily Mail's sidebar of shame ... it's like influencers don't exist," she says. This silence around influencers - the same silence that may have you wondering why you've never heard of many of those mentioned in this book, despite their millions of followers - speaks volumes," writes Yallop.

Indeed, this is a book packed with unfamiliar names and dizzying numbers. Top kidfluencers include brothers Vlad and Nikita, aged six and four, whose shared YouTube channel has brought in an estimated $64 million." YouTuber PewDiePie has 106 million followers and is estimated to earn around $8 million per month". And how about this: In 2018, financial analysts shook their heads in disbelief as Kardashian sister Kylie Jenner wiped $1.3bn (1bn) off Snapchat's market value in a single day after tweeting, Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?'". Yallop contextualises these ludicrous stats with an engaging analysis of online culture that also takes in world-changing events from the Capitol insurrection to the pandemic.