Sunbeamsjess

[elsa_1993]

Apologies if this is too OT but at various points throughout this thread, people have suggested other booktubers to watch. Are there any that anyone would recommend that might not have been mentioned?

My issue with book tube is that most booktubers read fantasy and tend to read the same books/ series. Jess is really unique in that she reads a variety of genres and can actually explain what the hell she actually read.

She actually reads the synopsis that is printed on the book instead of trying to stumble through a made up synopsis on the spot. I know some people say she just regurgitates good-reads reviews, but she did show her completely filled reading journal so she does have thoughts on what she reads.

Thats why I prefer her book content to 99.9% of booktubers.

That being said I have not come across many similar booktubers to Jess just Eric Karl Anderson. He comes across so genuine and sweet I enjoy his book content.

 

[hereforthedrama10]

Ive no doubt that social media is potentially very harmful if you are a vulnerable teenager or in a vulnerable place mentally.
I don’t understand why someone Jess’ age chooses to follow her & then gives out about her unattainable lifestyle because of how it makes them feel.

Hi, pretty sure it's me you're trying to call out here so thought I'd respond and maybe clarify some things for you. I've been watching Jess for about 10 years now. Over that time I've shared experiences with her, moving out, going to uni etc and for a time our lives felt very similar. I've since graduated and got a job. She's since graduated and done a masters, now from as much as I can tell 'influencing' is her full time job. Which is fantastic, it's super impressive that she's managed to grow her audience and make a living from something which was once a hobby. This is essentially the ideal 'dream' for many many people.

What I take issue with is the fact that I work my ass off 9-5 doing a job I don't really like, but I have to do it because like everyone else, I need money to pay my rent, bills etc. I'm also highly aware of how privileged I am do be doing this job in the first place. I have a good salary and job security which is more than most right now and I'm extremely grateful for it.

I used to watch someone like Jess and be able to relate to what she was doing, uni work etc. It's why I watched her as I felt that we were similar in some ways. She was someone who motivated and inspired me to work harder.

Now I sit down to watch her video at the end of my working week and I see someone who has managed to buy a house in the most expensive city in the UK and yet her 'week of work' shows her doing absolutely nothing???

I'm sorry but I fail to see how anyone can not feel at least a little put off by this. I know that if I don't like it I should stop watching her. Which is exactly what I've done. However, how many more of these people am I going to have to stop watching because they glorify a lifestyle which is unattainable for a large percentage of the population?

I've never been on one of these forums before I watched this video. I clearly feel very strongly about this because it is grossly unfair and clearly a lot of people on here feel the same. If it doesn't affect you then brilliant. But as someone else pointed out in another post, it does feel like you're missing the forest for the trees here.

*edit, I have no problem with influencers, as long as they work hard!! Like everyone else has to.

 

[consumerism makes u free]

Well that's a rather invalidating and reductive summary that sort of misses the forest for trees. People were making broader points but alright.

 

[Lunalola1]

Anyone else think this is the biggest sign she is pregnant?!

 

[niogkjd]

Urgh.

She lives of her parents money, got the best education money could buy, supported through uni, then a masters, was taken on amazing educatonial holidays and repays that investment by doing sweet fa all day - she is a lazy parasite leeching off others hard work.

She gives nothing back to society or to her viewers and will continue to be a leech as long as she can, she should be working as an able bodied adult, contributing to society in some way. A job that might not be for monetary gains but to help her community or to help the arts that she claims to love.
Can you really not see that?
I find her lazy attitude absolutely disgusting, her parents must be shocked and saddened that all of their time and all of their hard work to educate her has led to this apathy. How can you not follow that train if thought and only come back with you must be jEaLoUs.
Seriously?
Disguised and disappointed - yes. This woman had a lot of potential and so many privileges and opportunities not available to the majority and chooses to rot away in a bathtub with a paperback.

Amelia liana also has filthy rich parents but churns out the cheesy cheery content on a fairly regular basis, even does the odd bit of charity work to give back. Jess could have done a podcast om books, apparently a passion of hers, but instead plops for half arsed book reviews heavily comprised of stealing other people's reviews off goodreads. Just like stealing a degree by paying others to write essays for you.
Do the work yourself.

I do know a little of AU healthcare, not as much as you will living there but it is veryyyyy different to UK healthcare, especially now. Individuals in the UK simply cannot choose any health treatment here, maybe in theory but the reality is different. Advantages of paying through the nose for a private birth is seeing the same consultant throughout and having them (hopefully) at the c section. They will helpfully guide you to a c section, it's more convenient for them as they won't be dragged back into hospital at 3am, and as a bonus they can charge more for it! I am angry at the huge gap betwen private and public healthcare yes. All of us in the UK should be horrified at the lack of investment in it, we will probably all use it at some point.

Lastly moving forward you might consider writing 'people' who give birth, to be properly inclusive.

Thanks my loves, if anyone read this.

At the end of the day. It’s her choice. I think it’s fair game to criticise the work she puts out to the world. But her own personal choices are her own. And what she does and doesn’t do with her life is her own issue to deal with. If she gets older and realises the mistakes she made. It’s her own. Unfortunately. It really appears that your own personal issues manifest in taking it out on her. But as long as she isn’t doing anything really wrong, there’s no point going this ham on her. I come from privledge in the wealth sense. But at the end of the day it’s my choice what I do. And to be critiqued on choices that does not negatively impact others is an over step. Anyway, you don’t seem to be someone who will look at both sides and seem very emotionally taken by her. So do what you will. Say what you will. I think it’s sad frankly.
And no I won’t take advice on you on political correctness given the way you speak about c-sections.Basically everyone has disagreed with you on this. Take the hint.

 

[palmer]

But most people

I realize you didnt intend it poorly but that is some patronizing stuff, that is borderline spiritual bypassing, and neglects the reality of the world for many of us. Hard work doesn't ensure 'happiness' anymore than being born into wealth does. And it doesnt ensure financial security obviously. But being born into wealth does (generally) ensure financial security and financial insecurity is arguably the number one killer in the world. Its not just 'nice' not to have to worry about money, its almost everything. And if someone doesnt know that or believe that, its because theyve never really had to worry.

Preface: I just love your posts @consumerism makes u free. They're always so spot-on.

I get OP's point but the way the post was worded sounded super condescending and pretentious to me. I have a well-paying job and high earning potential, I'm not worried about my future per se -- but this doesn't stop me from having an understanding of what would be the position of the vast majority of people who watch Youtube videos and follow these influencers. Most people will never ever get close to earning half of the income earned by the Youtubers they watch, despite working 10x more and harder than them. And that is deeply unfair and wrong. Even if they get to a comfortable enough position in their lives, they will never attain the type of comfort that Jess has -- they'll never get as much free time to spend on themselves and their loved-ones, they'll never get to own as much as she does, they'll never get as much freedom as she has because they'll be reliant on their jobs at the end of the day.

I'm obviously not envious of Jess' awful mental health and lack of purpose. I do think most of these influencers will never be truly happy or fulfilled, because their lives are so vapid and meaningless. For this reason I would not trade my life with theirs (otherwise I would have started posting videos on Youtube by now). I'm happy that I have a job that actually adds something to society, I'm happy that I get to pay for my own shit, and I'm even happier when I do get to spoil my family and friends -- yes, all these things feel good. It's satisfying and gives you motivation to get up every morning. But I still see the deep injustice that's going on here.

My previous post was meant to encompass influencers in general, so it doesn't matter much that Jess in particular comes from extreme wealth via her family. But even then, the points do circle back. The fact that her life likely wouldn't be any different had she not been a Youtuber doesn't really make it any better, if anything it's worse. She displays an obscene amount of wealth and absurd lifestyle for people to watch, and for her to get all these extra privileges on top of that (PR gifts and whatnot) is frankly an insult and again shows what's wrong with this society. People like Jess who had family money to begin with were able to start posting videos about hauls/makeup, even when they weren't getting any income from it, because they already had money in the family bank to invest in this shit, and then from there they got to turn this into a 'career' which gets them even more money and privileges. (and in Jess' case, she even got to turn it into a career for her significant other as well!!!)

Even in the midst of a global pandemic and recession, influencers continue to post affiliate links every day for shit most people cannot afford--they continue to show just how little they are contributing while the rest of us are losing our jobs, perhaps worried about our parents' jobs, etc. It's just disgusting and if you are able to distance yourself from it because you happen to be in a comfortable position yourself, that's great for you! But think of all the people who never will have access to even your level of comfort (let alone the kind of level influencers like Jess have). For most people it's not just about waiting for their career to 'pick up', because many career paths do not even have a high earning potential anyway (no matter how many years you are in it / how advanced you are in your career). They already know that even at the peak of their career they still wouldn't be able to afford half the shit influencers do. They already know they might never be able to buy a house.

The fact that Jess has all that she has and doesn't even try to do something valuable with it is despicable, if you ask me. Has she ever done anything for charity? Has she ever donated her time to a cause or used her platform to elevate voices? Has she ever truly acknowledged her privilege and shown any type of understanding of wealth inequality? Has she ever shown any level of awareness regarding the position her viewers might be in / the type of lifestyle her viewers have? The most she's ever done was to stop posting What I Got For Xmas videos and that's just not nearly enough as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Mr.Mistoffelees]

Nice catch! What does the 22 stand for?

Never mind, just got round to watching that part. It obviously stands for 22 weeks, which equals 5 months. Fits the timeline perfectly.

I'm convinced she's pregnant now.

 

[Hasanah123]

Saw her walking around the Hammersmith area, not going to say what I saw, but Jess ignoring has given you her answer, unless shes liking the attention and engagement

 

[coriander]

Her mum definitely makes a lot of money. She's been a partner at Freshfields for 15 years. Their partners were paid £1.8 million in 2019.

Yes and Zak absolutely landed on his feet and he knows it.

 

[Mr.Mistoffelees]

I really like that she’s started replying to people on instagram. It surprised me a bit!

The bar is really low for Jess, isn't it? This is part of her "job" as a social media influencer, something she's ignored for years on end. I imagine her family praises her for doing such mundane things as well.

 

[Elyezabeth]

I think Jess really should think about the fact that there's large periods of time where 100% of her content is sponsored. It's so disingenuous and just so blatantly obvious it's a money-making pursuit. Like at least make it look like you're having fun too?

Large periods of time? No I think it's just been one. The entire past 3 years.

 

[ECH]

guys come on!
i know all of us here were fans of jess at some point, probably watching her uni vlogs in edinburgh. but she can't stay like that forever to keep our expectations! and also to be fair, no matter how much she vlogged, she was always quite private about certain things so i don't feel like we really know her (i mean of course we don't know her )
i think it's sad to see that some people are disappointed in her, or wanted more from her potential, or think that she can't do some things now because she's expecting. i don't have children and i don't plan to have them in the near future so i may not be the one to comment, but the choice of what she ends up doing is up to her isn't it! i have a friend who gave birth to one child at the beginning of uni, and her other child by the end of uni. she finished the bachelors, masters and is now doing a phd + working! and her husband is working as well! at least jess will have some help from zak (and he does seem to be rather helpful around the house)
and yes maybe the comments would be different if she wasn't a rich white girl, but my friend that i mentioned is by no means rich and everyone was very supportive of her. there will always be both negative and positive comments
anyway, sorry for the rant, don't mean to offend anyone, i just think she still has so much life ahead of her, and i'm genuinely happy for her not just because of the pregnancy but also because of her mom

The issue with Jess isn't that she's having a baby, it's that she has absolutely no drive. She thinks she's busy right now when all she does day in day out is read.

 

[EllsBellsWells]

Here in the Netherlands, you cannot just ask for c-section because you’re too posh to push here either.

We reeeaaalllly need to stop using that term.

 

[hereforthedrama10]

Yes yes yes1000 times yes! Thank you for your response, I finally feel like SOMEBODY gets it. I know there's probably loads of us out there, it just seems like such a taboo topic and it's so hard not to come across as jealous or bitter because I know without a doubt some people would absolutely take it that way. I'd never feel comfortable posting this in the Youtube comments section because I know the message would't be taken as intended but this needs to be talked about!! You completely hit the nail on the head when you mentioned how content 'used to be' before influencing was a job. It was just a pure and honest documentation of someone's day to day life but now it's become a job its entrenched in so much privilege (not to mention the nightmare of PR 'gifting') and it just seems like it's almost set up to make us 'normal people' feel bad about ourselves?! Like it's become pretty impossible for me to watch Jess and not compare my life to hers. She's only a year older than me, we both went to uni, both live in London but I couldn't be further away from the position she is in in life right now. I don't know if I'll be able to afford a house. It's so difficult to watch people be rewarded so highly for doing nothing.

 

[Jeeen22]

So nice of her to treat us to all her walk pictures before the sponsored content!

 

[Smca53]

I’d also like to add that the beginning of the influencer movement was sold to us (by the individuals themselves as well as the media) as them being like your big sister, a relatable friend, etc. Of course, it grew and that’s fine, but it’s inevitable that there will be some form of resentment when you grow up watching someone sold as relatable and your life carries on as ‘normal’ but their ‘job’ (which doesn’t seem to involve an awful lot at all) allows them to live a life of apparent luxury.

 

[ECH]

I'm quite curious what she's gonna name the baby because her and Zak seem like the type who might go for something quite out there. My money's on Lyra though because she loves the His Dark Materials books.

 

[getawaywithit]

It’s not that being a mother is purposeless, I would agree that it’s the opposite. However, it does irrevocably change your life and especially for women, from that point on your life is no longer just your own and becomes in a large way now centred on your child. That is NOT to say women give up or have to give up their lives or goals or careers, but there’s no point in pretending that from that point out you are not dedicated to your child and at the very least making nearly every day to day and life decision around that child. Not to mention, for women the mental and physical toll just a pregnancy takes. Again, not to say that a baby is a bad or unenjoyable thing, obviously not lol, but it’s also not a ‘Dunno what I want to do with my life, let’s try this for a lark’ activity.

All that to say, it’s surprising to see Jess who never seemed to have quite ‘flown the nest’ or settled on anything in particular (and her boyfriend the same), now having a baby and therefore taking on the ‘my life is no longer just my own’ completely transformative decision. Whatever part of her life that might have evolved in an independent way in her 20s is gone now. Mothering is NOT a disappointment or directionless, of course not, but it is a very real direction that isn’t just ‘why not do this if you’re not doing anything else’ and actually means something. She is very young and tbh, who knows if she will even last with Zak.

 

[Mr.Mistoffelees]

I feel like some people on this thread undermine the difficulty of obtaining a PhD. It's not that being a mother would stop her from doing a PhD per se, it's that she'll likely use it as an excuse to continue with her joke of a career, aka being a part-time influencer.

I know a handful of PhD candidates/scholars with a PhD and she doesn't have a tenth of their intellectual capacity, natural drive, perseverance, and conscientiousness. It's not some short-term online course, it's years of hard work and dedication, and I don't see her succeeding in it, unfortunately.

 

[Mr.Mistoffelees]

If they think it's safe for her mom, there's no doubt they will bend the rules and do as they please.

This is the same girl who went on a sponsored trip to the US at the beginning of the pandemic and who, instead of apologising for her stupid mistake that might've put other people's lives at risk, made a video full of excuses. Some people seem to have forgotten this happened. She doesn't care about public safety, she only cares about her family's wellbeing.