There is no doubt that social media has revolutionized our world and opened a vault of opportunity, connection and accessibility never seen before. Our generation has been considerably impacted. I mean after all, our relationships, careers, and personal leisure involve the consumption of media from our phones and computers.
We are all familiar with the countless research and statistics on Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, Facebook, the list goes on. However, LinkedIn and the elements that comprise the platform are astonishing to me. My hot take is: LinkedIn is the most toxic social media we have access to. And yet, it is a platform we utilize for job searches and online networking – two things we have been told are essential if we want to get anywhere in our careers.
LinkedIn is the ultimate “highlight reel.” We boast of our new achievements, carefully curate our profiles to declare incredibly specific details of every job we have held, and worst of all: notify people when we view their profile. I mean, that ruins all the fun. On a serious note, I struggle heavily with the psychological effects of LinkedIn. Feeling the need to constantly “connect” is exhausting. Especially when we are subjected to looking at everyone else’s accomplishments, fancy new jobs and success that oftentimes results in us sitting behind the screen completely envious.
In the height of my job search, I spend time each day on the platform, scavenging through companies, people and job postings that result in me feeling more discouraged than when I began. The intimidation factor of connecting with accredited CEOs, recruiters, and arguably worst of all: people we know in real life. A wide range of individuals (acquaintances, family friends, previous co-workers, friends from a decade ago) all have access to see how we are doing in our careers, where we’re at, and in points of discouragement and confusion in one’s career trajectory, it can feel embarrassing, disheartening and challenging to pretend like you are thrilled with where you are.
Don’t get me wrong, LinkedIn has revolutionized the job industry, but I write this to extend a hand out to those who are feeling lost in their career, grappling with the additional burden of feeling like your path is exposed for views and critique from your lengthy list of loose connections.