Have you noticed people’s behaviour, especially those in the public eye, has become a little, well, shameless? Public figures have been, it seems, living in a world where the effects of shame that rule over so many of us seem to not apply. 

Whether it’s disgraced TV personalities using the same medium to prove that they’re not that bad after all, or movie stars using their wealth and status to convince others how relatable and ‘normal’ they are, to our politicians saying and doing whatever they want, to influencers, to Elon Musk, who requires no such explanation for why he’s the perfect encapsulation of a post-shame attitude. 

The age of shame appears to be ending, and the rise of post-shame is beginning. So in this week’s Brink I’m going to be getting to grips with what this new age looks like, and more importantly, trying to understand why it has emerged.