Saw this on the Alice Liveing thread... I bet I know who our anonymous lifestyle influencer is. She bloody loves having a whinge to the 'press' doesn't she! Funny isn't it. Em I think you're the saddo as your life consists of endless amounts of free tit, gifted events, even your washing tablets are gifted! You have no substance girl. You know NOTHING about me or my life. But I know loads about you because you choose to plaster it all over the internet!
For one lifestyle influencer in her twenties, who wishes to remain anonymous, gossip sites have proved devastating.
‘I found Guru Gossip about four years ago – and got into a bad way reading it,' she says. 'But someone hacked the website and showed user names and emails and I saw that they were mostly bloggers who hadn’t ended up successful – which, honestly, did make it hurt less.’ (This tallies with a point from Cavangh on what pulls people to these sites: 'Celebrities and Instagram influencers have more power and status than most of us. Tearing them down to your social equals may feel a little like reasserting some of your own social power, making you feel less low status.')
The content of the comments is far-ranging. ‘On Tattle Life, I've been slated for my voice, what I wear. My family are criticised. It's every little thing. It feels like you’ve been physically abused and battered. Intellectually, I know these people are saddos, but it does take a couple of weeks to fully realise that.’
She also claims that certain site members have attempted to create IRL implications, reporting her to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for alleged misconduct, with regards to paid-for posts. (A spokesperson for Tattle Life said that they cannot comment without being directed to the specific mentions in question.)
As to why she did read the forums, when she heard of them? ‘It’s human nature to read this stuff when someone tells you about it. But I don’t read them, anymore.’