Seriously. SERIOUSLY. Why do people have such an issue with Zoella?
The Guardian are back with another poorly informed article about how Zoe is solely responsible for the decline in teenager’s literacy.
“She has been blamed, along with other pedlars of unchallenging fiction – Jeff Kinney, of Diary of a Wimpy Kid – for declining teen literacy.”
Well. We do kinda love that someone thinks that one vlogger could even have that much power tbh. But it’s still all rubbish.
Zoella is a more successful businesswoman and author at the age of 27 than most of us could ever dream of. She hit the bestseller charts with her first novel, she’s an advocate for mental health, has her own beauty range and speaks to millions of people. How is any of that a bad thing?
I'm so proud of everything I have accomplished and worked hard for, but what makes it worth it is how that affects thousands of people daily
— Zoë (@Zoella) February 26, 2017
We know that a lot of fire is thrown at ‘Girl, Online’ and it’s ridiculous. Okay, there was a lot of fuss about it being ghostwritten, but if you enjoy a book, who cares? And the same goes for what you’re reading.
Zoella has encouraged thousands of people who wouldn’t normally read to fall in love with books and surely that’s what every single author wants, right? Reading is reading, whether you’re devouring ‘Girl, Online’, working your way through ‘Harry Potter’ or trudging through ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. And to be honest, ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Girl, Online’ are way more likely to make you a lifelong reader than Hardy…
https://twitter.com/EscapologistFi/status/835863453969616896
Why would you sneer at a book that makes someone smile or gives them a reflection of what they think and feel and tells them that what they feel is okay?
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This piece from The Guardian is more than just an attack on Zoella though, it’s an attack on teenage girls. On their intelligence, their likes, their voices undermined and ignored. Teens aren’t standing for it anymore.
This is the reason why teens feel so undervalued in society — we have no voice, no choice as to how we’re portrayed. We’re spoken down to.
— Lucy Powrie (@LucyTheReader) February 26, 2017
Adults vote on our behalf for choices we would never make, they tell us what we should or shouldn’t be reading, watching, listening to.
— Lucy Powrie (@LucyTheReader) February 26, 2017
We asked you guys what you thought about the whole shebang and we think the results are pretty definitive:
Has @Zoella, or any other YouTuber, ever helped you to get through a difficult period of time?
— Maximum Pop! (@maximumpop) February 26, 2017
Zoella is building an army of teenage girls who aren’t afraid to go for it. To give their dreams a shot, to overcome what’s holding them back and do it with other badass ladies at their sides. So thank you Zoella – you’re awesome.