As a neurodivergent person, I’ve always found social media to be a difficult space to navigate, and LinkedIn is no exception.
While it markets itself as a professional network, at its core, LinkedIn is also another social media platform with all the same manipulative strategies that exploit human behavior for profit.
LinkedIn is not just a sophisticated, purely professional space; it has a deeper, more intrusive and manipulative nature. Nevertheless, it is a useful tool, like other social media platforms, especially for work related aspects.
Is LinkedIn Useful?
There’s no denying that LinkedIn has become an essential tool for job seekers, freelancers, and businesses. I would definitely recommend you to have a LinkedIn account and explore the following genuinely useful aspects.
1. Professional Networking:
LinkedIn connects you with industry professionals, peers, and potential clients. It’s a platform to build relationships, learn about industry trends, and stay connected with your professional circle. It also sort of adds credibility to you as a professional in the digital realm.
👉 Make sure your profile reflects your uniqueness and authenticity.
👉 Always remember that just like on Instagram, people lie, lie and lie on LinkedIn. Things they are doing, their experience, skills, and education. Don't believe everything you read.
⚠️When people are not afraid to send fake resumes, letters, and certificates with job applications, and even hold jobs for years using such fake documents and information, do you think they are all truthful on LinkedIn? Remember the Accenture case?
2. Job Opportunities:
It’s a significant hub for job postings, with recruiters actively searching for candidates. This makes it a good resource for those looking to explore new career paths or switch jobs.
👉However, be aware that there is a lot of heartache in any job search, be it through individual online/offline applications, emails or via LinkedIn. Recruiters make you feel worthless and the dispiriting experience of searching for a job can undermine your self-confidence.
👉 It is not a magic market of jobs. The same rules of the world of jobs applies for LinkedIn jobs too. There are scams, overpromising, and unfair contracts (for freelancers).
👉If you are new - whether new to LinkedIn or new as in a freshly graduated person, first spend some months learning the ropes and in's and out's of what works, how it works, and how you can make it work for you.
3. Learning and Skill Development:
LinkedIn Learning offers courses that can enhance skills, improve competencies, and keep you updated with the latest in your field. It can be a resource for continuous professional growth.
👉However, don't trust something just because it is on LinkedIn. Research a course, the value it offers, the reviews from previous students (also learn to be discerning about reviews and their authenticity) and how it might actually help you, before signing up.
4. Visibility and Branding:
For freelancers and small businesses, LinkedIn serves as a platform to showcase work, share achievements, and/or build a professional brand. It allows you to market your skills to a targeted audience.
😶I am not much of a social media user, and so I use LinkedIn sparingly too, as it does not offer much value for me. The value it offers and how much time I spend on it are already optimized. What I seek and get from it would not increase if I spent more time on it. But that may not apply to you.
5. Industry News and Insights:
With access to articles, discussions, and expert opinions, LinkedIn can be a useful way to stay informed about your industry, company news, and global business trends.
👉Make sure that this kind of use does not become a time drain for you. Allocate some time per week to it, and stick to it.
Ask yourself difficult and uncomfortable questions. Ask, why and how and what, related to your online activities and try to be introspective about your superficial 'goals' and actual, deep, unconscious motivations.
If you have clarity on your own mind, then you can use any social media platform smartly, to your advantage.
LinkedIn Is A Social Media Platform
Now that I have told you all the good things it offers, let us think over the other aspect that LinkedIn is still, at its heart, a social media company driven by engagement metrics, data mining, and revenue.
Do you know, long before Facebook perfected its controversial algorithms, LinkedIn was already snooping on users, accessing browsing data, and making eerily accurate contact suggestions based on what you did on other tabs. There were discussions about these invasive practices on forums like Reddit years ago, highlighting the company’s dubious approach to privacy. In those days, the privacy laws were also quite rudimentary.
While LinkedIn wears an Armani suit and tie, it still functions like any other social media platform: manipulating your engagement, collecting your data, and nudging you into spending more time on it, all for its bottom line.
This hypocrisy—the pretense of professionalism while employing the same tactics as any other social network—makes it particularly frustrating for someone like me who finds social media exhausting, and who hugely values authenticity. What Instagram is about personal lifestyle, LinkedIn is about professional lifestyle.
The Hidden Costs
My biggest concern about all social media platforms are their Manipulative Engagement Tactics.
LinkedIn’s algorithms are designed to keep you scrolling, engaging, and coming back for more, just like any other social platform. Whether it’s notifications, suggested connections, or tailored (makes you click to read more) content, it’s all designed (and kept evolving) to hold your attention.
Be it endless loops of motivational quotes or interesting discussion. Don’t be fooled—behind every ‘inspiring’ LinkedIn post is someone trying to sell you something. Or gain something.
Add to this their Invasive Data Practices. It is possible that LinkedIn tracks your activity far beyond its own site. Like I said, it used to suggest contacts and content based on your browsing history more than 15 years ago. I wonder how deep its data mining goes—something that should concern anyone valuing privacy. Same with Facebook, which now knows more about me (and my family and their contacts), than I know about myself, I think. And this is when I use it only for my business.
As a deeply private person, these intrusions into my privacy are unacceptable to me, but something I have to live with, in the current scenario.
Then, depending on what kind of posts you engage with, and what can provoke you into spending more time on the platform, your feed becomes more and more manipulative. There is also an Echo Chamber Effect, where popular opinions dominate and dissenting voices are drowned out. Or sometimes overly negative or positive content gets quite a bit of promotion, even when it is neither authentic, nor does it really serve you. It’s not a forum for genuine, diverse conversations; it’s a platform designed to amplify what’s trending.
Also view: Why people online can be so impervious to facts.
And finally your mental health! LinkedIn posts are Comparison and Anxiety Triggers. The endless posts of polished careers, humblebrags, and curated personas can create a sense of inadequacy. It’s hard not to compare your own messy, complex reality with the glossy updates on LinkedIn. Once again, I reiterate - What Instagram is about personal lifestyle, LinkedIn is about professional life.
There is FOMO at LinkedIn too. It creates an environment where there’s an unspoken pressure to constantly network, post updates, and engage with others. This pressure can feel like a chore, especially when the platform doesn’t align with your authentic self. Often, you feel drained after using social media, instead of getting revitalized.
You know that how even after the newspapers and media are always warning us against scammers, still highly educated people become victims of online scammers. Right? Well, in the same way, people are negatively impacted by LinkedIn posts despite suspecting that not everyone is being authentic in their posts or profiles.
Some Tips for Freelancers
If you wish to leverage LinkedIn effectively, these are some things you can do to improve your credibility, visibility and networking.
📌 Optimize your profile with a professional photo, clear headline, and a compelling summary that highlights your skills and services.
📌 Share relevant content or insights in your niche to showcase your expertise and keep your profile active. It will not serve your career to create posts or share content that is unrelated to your expertise.
📌 Engage with industry-related posts by commenting thoughtfully to increase your visibility among potential clients.
📌 Join LinkedIn groups relevant to your field to connect with like-minded professionals and participate in discussions.
📌 Use LinkedIn’s search filters to identify and connect with potential clients, collaborators, or mentors in your industry. When reaching out to new people, customize your connection requests with a brief, personalized message explaining why you’d like to connect. Respect other people's time, keep communications courteous and professional, and keep your expectations reasonable. Remember, having a huge number of connections is not a validation of the quality of your work or of you as a person.
📌 Request recommendations from satisfied clients to build credibility and trust with prospective clients.
📌 Keep your profile updated with recent projects, certifications, or skills to stay relevant and attract new opportunities. You can also utilize LinkedIn Learning to upskill and showcase your commitment to continuous professional development.
📌 Remember, smart content on LinkedIn won't bring you return customers, your quality of work will.
Key Mantras: Discernment and Moderation
Social media platforms, including LinkedIn, have become almost unavoidable for professionals.
Just as we attend certain events, join local organizations, or network within our communities in the physical world, the same has become true for the online space.
I think it makes sense to approach these platforms with the same discernment, moderation, and common sense that we would apply offline. In addition, make sure to regularly keep yourself updated on the neuroscience of addiction and social media's impact on your mind. There are many articles and YouTube videos that regularly discuss these things in easy language.
Just like it is important to know about the nutritional aspects of the food you eat, it is equally important to know about the neuropsychological impact of the content you devour online.
A few tips to protect yourself - your mind, your time and your physical health - from the negative impact of LinkedIn:
✅Engage Intentionally
Use LinkedIn with clear, defined goals—whether it’s job hunting, networking, or learning new skills. Don’t let it dictate how you spend your time. Write out these goals for social media engagement, just like to write out other life or work goals. And regularly track or monitor them. Have an annual audit, as to how much time you spent on any platform vs how much worthwhile was it for you in terms of benefits that you value.
✅ Set Boundaries
Limit your time on LinkedIn, mute notifications, and only engage when it serves your purpose. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it needs to consume you. Allocate some time per week to it, and don't use it beyond that. There are apps that monitor your activity and give you warning when you are overshooting the intended usage. Use them! LinkedIn is the office water cooler, there isn't much sense in spending too much time there!
✅ Curate Your Feed
Connect only with people who add value, follow content that genuinely interests you, and remove connections or mute posts that feel inauthentic or draining. Don't unnecessarily browse and participate in discussions just because they are there. Put a monetary, emotional or spiritual value on your time, and always analyze whether the activity is worth your while.
✅ Be Aware of Manipulation
Stay conscious of the platform’s tactics to keep you engaged. Remind yourself that it’s designed to serve its interests, not necessarily yours. It offers "value," for sure, but that is not the whole story. Educate yourself. You have 16 waking hours in a day, and probably 10 of them are potentially productive ones, career-wise or relationships-wise. These 10 hours have to be distributed among various facets and responsibilities of your life.
Learn to take care of your minutes, or you will lose years without even realizing it.
✅ Prioritize Real Connections
While LinkedIn can facilitate networking, do remember that real, meaningful professional relationships are often built through direct communication, collaborations, and offline interactions. Make it a point to learn how to build friendships in your residential area, at office with colleagues, and how to nurture old friendships despite the hectic lives we lead. Learn how to create and be a part of a congenial atmosphere at work. How to foster positivity and camaraderie at work. How to present yourself, how to have a compassionate, giving, and serving mindset. How to cherish and nourish family relationships. All these require interpersonal and other soft skills and certain mindsets. Don't think the success of happy relationships depends entirely on whether you are surrounded by good people. People are people. We have to built our peoples skills to make things work and our lives rewarding.
The reality is that there isn't enough time in our days for us to read or watch all the good things out there.
I don't mean to say that all content on LinkedIn is devoid of value and meaning. It is definitely nice to connect with other like-minded people, read views or experiences that inform us or make us feel like a part of a community. We like our views to be validated, to watch inspiring or motivational videos that help us get through the day, with renewed zest. Some content uplift us, some makes us laugh. But the truth is that we do not really have enough time to consume all that is available to us online which can entertain or educate us. The sooner we realize this, the better our lives can become.
LinkedIn, like all social media, is a double-edged sword. It has undeniable benefits for professional growth and networking, but it’s important that you are aware of its core nature—a social media company designed to capture your time and data. As with all things, balance and self-awareness are key to making it work for you, rather than you working for it.
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