Allow Me To Introduce Myself offers readers a searing examination of the exploitative side of social media influencer culture. The book follows Anuri Chinasa, a young woman who was paraded on her stepmother's "mumfluencer" accounts from childhood, with every personal milestone and meltdown broadcast to millions of strangers. Now 25, Anuri is desperate to escape the spotlight and forge her own identity, but finds herself trapped by her over-exposed past.
Allow Me To Introduce provides a thought-provoking and interesting narrative around the ethics of social media influencers. Nwabineli doesn't flinch in depicting the disturbing reality of children being monetised by parent influencers under the guise of wholesome family content. The racial dynamics, with a white stepmother profiting from adopting and exhibiting a Black child, add an extra insidious layer. While an extreme example, the novel forces the reader to think critically about privacy, consent, and the rights we have over our own images and stories in the digital era. Who truly owns the rights to a child's image plastered across the internet? Nwabineli presents no easy answers, but this book will make you question the "innocent" family pictures you see from parent influencers on the internet.
Beyond its sharply relevant commentary, Allow Me To Introduce Myself is a darkly humorous and introspective story of self-discovery. Anuri's witty, heartfelt narration immerses you in her struggle to define her own desires after a childhood of overexposure. Her close friendships provide tender moments of support amid the chaos. It was particularly enjoyable to see Anuri’s relationship with her close friends Simi and Loki play out and the way in which they support each other.
All in all, Allow Me To Introduce Myself holds up a mirror to the troubling ethics of today’s influencer culture and society’s troubled relationship with digital privacy.
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