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It was an ordinary day. I picked up my phone and started browsing YouTube videos while I ate lunch. One video caught my eye: “How do I earn a salary of Rs 2 crore in the US.” It featured on YouTube an interview with an Indian guy in his 20s who used to work for Microsoft and run a successful YouTube channel. I watched the interview for a few seconds before moving on to another video. Later that night, when I opened YouTube again, I was bombarded with a series of videos on the same topic, focusing on the American dream and high salaries.
At first, these videos did not have an immediate impact on me. However, after a few hours, I found myself comparing my life and feeling depressed. I began to question the choices I had made over the years. The next two days were challenging as I struggled to free myself from these thoughts. Despite eventually returning to normal, I couldn’t stop thinking about the impact of posts and videos shared on LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
Let me be clear that I have no problem with people who choose to pursue opportunities abroad and build their lives there. However, there seems to be a need for some individuals to brag excessively about their accomplishments. On social media, and especially on LinkedIn, I come across countless posts every day where people proudly offer to be accepted to Ivy League colleges, get selected at top banks, or get jobs at Silicon Valley companies. It creates the impression that they are the “chosen one” and have a deep sense of accomplishment and pride. It’s as if they’re telling recruits, “I got hired because I got into Stanford or Harvard.”
In my opinion, LinkedIn is the worst offender among social media platforms in this regard. There is a great deal of toxicity on the platform, with many individuals using it solely for self-promotion. The more I use LinkedIn, the more I find myself engaging in self-comparison, which is my main problem with the platform. As human beings, it is natural to think that pursuing specialized courses or obtaining advanced degrees can benefit our careers. However, spending too much time on social platforms can lead to the misconception that others are thriving both personally and professionally, while we are falling behind.
I’m not against networking and building relationships, but LinkedIn tends to focus excessively on professional hierarchy, connections, and educational background as the only measures of success. I’ve seen people accept what’s offered on LinkedIn based solely on someone’s profile. I recently came across a post where someone shared a long note with a picture of the welcome goodies they got as a new employee at a bank. It has become a trend for bragging rights to join groups, tag managers, and recruiters on LinkedIn. I don’t know who started this, but there seems to be quite a bit of interest in what Google onboarding groups on YouTube look like.
As someone in my 30s, I have no regrets about the career path I chose. However, I do worry about the impact of the misleading narratives people create about themselves and their companies on social media, especially for those in their mid-20s and early 30s. Imagine how they feel when they come across news articles about an IIT graduate who got a salary package of Rs 1 crore or a former colleague who got a job in a bank in Singapore. Such situations not only fuel self-doubt and insecurity, but they can also negatively affect their mental health.
Not being employed by Google or attending IIT does not spell the end of a successful career. However, social media, along with societal pressures, often make individuals feel rejected and incomplete. Nobody tells you up front about the realities inside big tech companies or whether a salary of Rs 2 crore is enough to thrive in San Francisco. However, LinkedIn extols the competitive nature of the job market and highlights what it currently lacks.
On LinkedIn, I come across many individuals, particularly in their twenties, who strive to present themselves as the brightest and highest achiever. They seem desperate to share their career triumphs, the prestigious colleges they attended, and how they landed positions at major financial institutions or major technology companies despite facing humble backgrounds and personal struggles. While LinkedIn is a valuable platform for making professional connections, I can’t help but feel that it also encourages a culture of being the best and exaggerating professional accomplishments.
It is important to realize that a social sciences graduate will never get the same salary and benefits as a computer science engineer working for a technology company. However, no one discusses this reality openly with recent college graduates, not with their professors or social media. There is little talk about how Big Tech contributes to income inequality, both in the US and India. Thus, individuals with non-technical backgrounds often feel economically insecure, yet this topic is rarely addressed on LinkedIn or any other social platform. The majority of discussions on LinkedIn are led by individuals in positions of authority, such as those at McKinsey and Google. This often makes it difficult to associate with a professional social platform like LinkedIn since you are surrounded by connections whose posts are carefully curated as part of your marketing strategy. I rarely come across discussions about the psychological stress people experience in their jobs on LinkedIn. Everyone seems to paint a “bland” picture of the company’s culture, creating the illusion that the foundation of your career rests solely on professional growth.
In fact, social media discourages authenticity and honesty with oneself. Besides, there is a fair amount of judgment from colleagues, superiors, and acquaintances if you dare to speak your mind. The truth is, no one is applauding you for highlighting weaknesses and flaws in a system, and the moment you become vulnerable, you are likely to be socially attacked and trolled due to a victim mentality.
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