I’m deep into a new show and loving it. It’s called Chloe and it’s about a young woman’s obsession with an old friend (Chloe) with whom she’s no longer in touch. Or rather, it’s about her obsession with Chloe’s Instagram account. When Chloe (whose life seems perfect based on her social media presence), mysteriously dies, our heroine Becky assumes a false identity and risks pretty much everything to infiltrate Chloe’s life, to in part learn more about the circumstances surrounding Chloe’s death, but also to inhabit a life she imagined was charmed, rosy, ideal. It’s addictive as hell and generally a delicious thriller perfectly suited to Our Era of Social Media.
The show does something in particular that feels spookily familiar to what my own psyche does when engaging with particular momfluencer accounts.
When Becky clicks on some of Chloe’s photos, we (the viewers) occupy Becky’s mind’s eye as she imagines the moment right after the moment represented online via a photograph. A photo of Chloe and an unknown friend precedes an imagined moment in which the friend leans into Chloe’s ear and whispers an intimate something the Instagram voyeur will never be privy to. A photo of Chloe and her husband precedes an imagined moment during which Chloe’s husband breathes in the scent of Chloe’s hair before ravishing her. Etc.
This is the drug of social media and parasociality for me. That infinitesimal moment when my subconscious makes little assessments, assumptions, and sometimes wholly unsupported narrative leaps based on a single photo. These imagined moments sometimes end up becoming dreams and these Instagram strangers have (at times) taken up more real estate (imaginatively speaking) than anyone in my IRL life. I’ve never seen a piece of media capture this allusive moment of subconscious conjuring so well.
So my question this week is - which books, podcasts, novels, works of nonfiction, whatever, have you come across that nail a super specific something about momfluencer culture specifically (or influencer culture more broadly) so clearly?
I have not seen anything that answers your prompt, but I do want to recommend a show that I think is SUCH a great counter to momfluencer culture. It's called "Better Things" and it is on Hulu. The mom is totally unfiltered, and she's this perfect mix of everything messy and uncomfortable in motherhood that you will not find on Instagram. It is SOO funny and an absolute breath of fresh air!
The novel "Wildcat" by Amelia Morris explores friendship between an influencer/momfluencer and the narrator. There's also stuff about class differences between female friends, and a dollop of anti-vaxx beliefs and the impact on a friendship after children come into the picture. Its a quick read! The writer used to host a podcast I absolutely loved called Mom Rage and I recall her talking quite a bit on the podcast about writing and trying to sell this book, so it was fun to finally read it.
"People like Her" by Ellery Lloyd did a great job of skewering the performative aspect of Instagram mom culture and putting it into a bit of a thriller context, but as a co-sleeping parent with a new baby it HAUNTS MY DREAMS so I really don't recommend reading it postpartum.
I have not seen anything that answers your prompt, but I do want to recommend a show that I think is SUCH a great counter to momfluencer culture. It's called "Better Things" and it is on Hulu. The mom is totally unfiltered, and she's this perfect mix of everything messy and uncomfortable in motherhood that you will not find on Instagram. It is SOO funny and an absolute breath of fresh air!
The novel "Wildcat" by Amelia Morris explores friendship between an influencer/momfluencer and the narrator. There's also stuff about class differences between female friends, and a dollop of anti-vaxx beliefs and the impact on a friendship after children come into the picture. Its a quick read! The writer used to host a podcast I absolutely loved called Mom Rage and I recall her talking quite a bit on the podcast about writing and trying to sell this book, so it was fun to finally read it.
Ingrid Goes West! It was so cringe and so real.
The novel "A Touch of Jen"!
It's not about momfluencers but I really enjoyed Leigh Stein's Self Care which deals heavily with social media culture and influencers
"People like Her" by Ellery Lloyd did a great job of skewering the performative aspect of Instagram mom culture and putting it into a bit of a thriller context, but as a co-sleeping parent with a new baby it HAUNTS MY DREAMS so I really don't recommend reading it postpartum.