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Dino's avatar

Stephen is great about giving life to observations that we’ve all had, but never consciously realized we’ve had them. In an age when real leaders have withdrawn from the spotlight of social media, presumably because they’re busy leading, in the their vacuum the hacks now occupy that space and vulnerability has now lost all meaning as it’s always performative in that context

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Hiddn Intelligence's avatar

Thanks for the shout out, Dino. I’m not immune to the allure of these tactics. Empathy is another one. All most of us can do is keep checking ourselves in the mirror. I’m always asking myself, who is this [enter any tactic] for?

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Kim Freedman's avatar

Thought-provoking piece, thank you! A classroom of teenagers can spot performative vulnerability pretty quickly, but teaching them to see it and call it out in other spaces is trickier.

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Hiddn Intelligence's avatar

Oh that’s so interesting Kim. That kids have that ability to see right through it but are less likely to call it out.

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Rachel's avatar

Yep. Performative vulnerability, that’s what that’s called. I couldn’t put my finger on it for so long but you’ve articulated it well.

Tip for readers, listen to the audio. I’m biased as his wife but it’s soooo good!

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