Mark Zuckerberg teased online for ‘billionaire’s booster seat’ at Facebook hearing
'Mark Zuckerberg is sitting on a booster seat so he looks like a big boy'
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Your support makes all the difference.All eyes were on Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday as the Facebook CEO faced Congress for the first time since details regarding the data sharing scandal emerged.
However, one of the most talked-about issues at the hearing had little to do with what he said and everything to do with how he was sitting.
During the five-hour long hearing, Zuckerberg comfortably added four inches to his 5'7" frame thanks to a camouflaging black booster cushion.
While the thick cushion might’ve given his testimony a lift, it has made him subject to a sea of ridicule online, with some labelling it “ridiculous” and describing the tech billionaire as a “man-child”.
“Mark Zuckerberg in a booster seat looks like he’s about to ask the waitress for chicken fingers and apple juice,” wrote one person on Twitter.
“Mark Zuckerberg sitting on a booster cushion in order to appear taller is a great metaphor for life on Facebook,” added another.
Many took to infantilising the Facebook co-founder, with one joking that he sat on the booster seat “so he looks like a big boy.”
“Booster seat for everyone’s special little guy. #Zuckerberg,” added another.
The real question is why would Zuckerberg want to appear a few inches taller while delivering his all-important testimony?
According to confidence coach, Jo Emerson, it might've all been part of a wider tactic to elevate his authority in what was indisputably a crucial and high-pressured moment.
“Psychologically, we can be guilty of perceiving taller people as more confident and in control than those who are shorter,” she told The Independent.
“Of course, believing taller people are more confident is ridiculous but beliefs developed in childhood can be very hard to shift.
“So, it’s only natural that Mr Zuckerberg wanted to feel physically larger as this would help his psyche to feel ‘bigger’,” she explains.
“He would also, psychologically, feel less intimidated by the setting if he felt physically bigger.”
Leading life coach Michael Serwa added that despite Zuckerberg's billionaire status, even highly successful people aren't immune to insecurities.
"In a business environment, people operating at Mark’s level will be used to dealing with tough situations and I doubt he sits on a cushion when he’s going about his day-to-day life," he told The Independent, "but when your empire is under attack on such a large scale, your basic instinct will kick in and it's not uncommon for business leaders to seek more presence when under fire."
However, Emerson pointed out that Zuckerberg’s 5’7" stature hardly makes him short and that a woman of this height would be considered fairly tall.
“Our culture tricks us into believing in hackneyed stereotypes,” she added, “such as ‘men should be big and tall’, which, as individuals, we have to work hard to overcome.
“There are many short, very successful people in the world but this event just goes to show how our culture blinds us to this truth.”
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