In the modern professional landscape, it’s nearly impossible to avoid LinkedIn. The omnipresent social networking site is the nexus of career connections, providing endless access to job opportunities and the chance to flex those professional muscles for future employers. As much of a net positive this site presents, there has always been this superficial edge to it that I could never shake.
From a networking perspective, I understand the importance of using LinkedIn, especially if you’re a humanities major. As an English major, I have seen that careers like publishing or even digital content creation can be insanely difficult to break into if you don’t know someone with a footing in those fields.
I’ve used LinkedIn to reach out to Moravian English alumni, and I can say that it is practical if you have your sights set on a dream career or a job/internship that will get you at least a step closer. Moreover, I get specialized posts on internship opportunities, which is always a plus.
That being said, as a sensible human, I despise what LinkedIn stands for. Not to use a banal Gen-Z buzzword, but it is painfully performative on so many levels! Maybe I’m just someone who values authenticity, but it feels like you’re putting yourself out there as a brand, not as a person. I hate putting on an artificial front just to be a networking jester in a court full of corporate cutthroats.
I understand the point of LinkedInis to market yourself and make connections, but I really wish I could see the site as anything more than superficial. Sorry, but I don’t want to come off as a walking, talking resume. I am more than just someone molded into the quintessential functioning member of society.
Don’t get me wrong: It can be wonderful reading LinkedIn to learn what your friends are accomplishing and what new opportunities they’ve been granted. But there is always a tinge of insecurity that you’re not doing enough. Instead of celebrating accomplishments, LinkedIn implicitly enforces the expectation that you should be doing more and that you need to always be achieving something. If that wasn’t enough, it exposes you to this hollow echo chamber of “I’m happy to announce…” that makes your achievements seem so minuscule, and which is always a form of bragging, in the end.
Another aspect of LinkedIn that has also rubbed me the wrong way is the workplace “activism.” What do I mean by this? I mean, employers posting about how we need to improve workplace culture and treat employees better … without providing any concrete solutions on how to do so. Listen, I could overlook the performativity if it wasn’t constantly on my feed and if everyone wasn’t AI-generating the same “Let’s treat employees better!” post that doesn’t attempt to do more than acknowledge there is a problem. I don’t need empty platitudes to understand that U.S. work culture is far from ideal or professional.
Let it be known that I am not calling for an all-out boycott against LinkedIn. With all my talking points, I am still going to use it for networking purposes and to know about any nifty internships that are up my alley. Practically speaking, it’s a site that succeeds in establishing connections. LinkedIn does have merit, but from a humanistic perspective, it is yet another social media platform that prioritizes gold star achievements over human qualities.
I forgot LinkedIn is a social media site at its core, so I’m going to treat it as I would Instagram or X – as a site that I (unfortunately) won’t stop using, but one I will take with more than just a grain of salt.
