Why I Stopped Posting on LinkedIn: The Rise of Superficiality and Fake Professionalism

[CareerCynic]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my reasons for stepping back from LinkedIn. While LinkedIn can be a valuable platform for professional networking and career development, I found it increasingly difficult to engage with the content and culture on the site. Here are the main reasons why I stopped posting:

1. Superficiality and Fake Professionalism

One of the most frustrating aspects of LinkedIn is the overwhelming amount of superficiality and fake professionalism. Many users seem more interested in projecting a polished, perfect image rather than engaging in genuine, meaningful interactions. This leads to a flood of posts that feel insincere and overly curated, making it hard to connect with people on a real level.

2. Pretending to Care for Social Causes

Another issue I encountered is the rampant virtue signaling. Many people post about social causes, minorities, and other societal problems not out of genuine concern, but to appear nice or cool and garner likes and fame. This performative activism dilutes the importance of these issues and turns meaningful causes into mere tools for personal branding.

3. Influencers and Coaches Selling Snake Oil

LinkedIn has also become a breeding ground for influencers and so-called "coaches" pushing their digital marketing courses and career-changing programs. While some of these courses contain useful information, the majority of it can be found for free on the internet if you're willing to put in the effort to search. Essentially, you're paying for convenience and the illusion of expertise rather than genuine, valuable content. This trend contributes to the overall sense of inauthenticity on the platform.

4. Hypocrisy and Insincerity

The list of hypocrisies on LinkedIn seems endless. From people who preach work-life balance while glorifying hustle culture, to those who tout leadership skills while engaging in toxic behaviors behind the scenes, the platform is rife with contradictions. This environment makes it challenging to navigate and engage with the community in a meaningful way.

5. Nepotism and Cronyism Disguised as Hard Work

People often post about hard work and perseverance, claiming that relentless effort is the key to success. However, when you dig deeper into their backgrounds, you find out that they are somehow related to the owner of the company or someone holding a key position there. Nothing pisses me off more than someone talking about hard work on LinkedIn but in reality, they didn't really earn it and are just beneficiaries of the hard work their parents or relatives put in to make their family successful. Most of these people never had to lift a finger to get things in life or took shortcuts, yet they love to talk about how hard we need to work to climb the corporate ladder and that somehow "we will get there eventually" if we work hard enough. This cheesy motivational speech is tiresome and annoying especially when it comes from the mouth of someone who doesn't know what the heck they are talking about.

6. Constant Surveillance by Paranoid HR Departments

Depending on the type of company you work for, especially those with overly paranoid HR departments, you are always being monitored. Anything you say out of the ordinary or any hint that you might be looking for another job could lead to trouble. This constant surveillance makes it not worth posting, as the risk of being misinterpreted or penalized is too high.

7. Forced Participation

Some companies force their employees to participate on LinkedIn, requiring them to share company posts, endorse colleagues, or write positive reviews. This compulsory participation undermines the authenticity of interactions and adds to the pressure of maintaining a facade of constant enthusiasm and loyalty.

8. Begging for Jobs

Another distressing trend is people creating posts begging for a job and telling sob stories to get one, similar to how a homeless person begs for money. This is very pathetic and downright humiliating. While seeking help is understandable, especially when you're broke and jobless, using LinkedIn as a platform for such pleas diminishes its professional value and turns it into a space of desperation. It can also make these beggars easy prey for greedy entrepreneurs who will take advantage of your desperation to give you a lowball job offer.

9. Thanking the Company After Being Fired

One of the most perplexing trends on LinkedIn is people thanking the company that just fired them. It’s crazy that some feel they have to praise and express gratitude towards a company that has let them go, treating it as if it were a family. This behavior not only seems insincere but also perpetuates a culture of corporate servility, where employees feel compelled to show undue loyalty even in the face of adversity.

10. Not Worth the Effort

To sum it up, it's not worth using the social media aspect of LinkedIn due to the nine reasons I pointed out earlier. It's impossible to be genuine on the platform due to the fear of being fired, the need to look good for companies, and the fear of peers or HR saying something if you express anything out of the ordinary. The pressure to conform and present a polished image outweighs the benefits of genuine interaction.

Conclusion

Ultimately, my decision to stop posting on LinkedIn came down to the overwhelming presence of superficiality, fake professionalism, and hypocrisy. While there are still pockets of genuine interaction and valuable content, they are increasingly overshadowed by the noise of self-promotion and insincerity. Nowadays, I believe LinkedIn should only be used when necessary, and even then, it should be treated with skepticism. I only use LinkedIn if the need arises to find a job and even so, I always use it to contact recruiters directly or search for job openings and apply, leaving out the social media aspect entirely since, in my humble opinion, it's not worth it. LinkedIn feels like a dystopia, as shown in the book 1984.

What are your thoughts on LinkedIn? Have you experienced similar frustrations? Let's discuss and share our experiences!

Best,
CareerCynic