Why is LinkedIn so weird?

LinkedIn should be a straightforward networking platform. So why does it feel so...weird?

In this "Case Study," the Good Work investigative team digs into the popularity of LinkedIn cringe. Thanks to Rachel Karten, Jack Raines, and Julie Livingston for their indispensable help with this investigation.

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Video by Dan Toomey and Henry Stockwell

#LinkedIn #CaseStudy #GoodWork

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Why is LinkedIn so weird?

[GoodWorkMB]

What case study should we do next? 🕵🏼‍♂

[absintel]

LinkedIn is the online version of that office party everyone HAS to go to and smile at the boss while she praises herself.

[luiscalejo]

I think a big problem with LinkedIn is the lack of negative feedback. You can't dislike a post (I think they even removed the 'thinking' reaction because people were using it as a dislike button) and most people won't comment negatively because it's not anonymous and they're afraid of looking bad on a professional network. The result is a network of toxic positivity. Even if a cringe narcissistic post is hated by 9 out 10 people, every tenth person might like it and the author might not even realize he/she made a cringe post

[accoviser]

I don't understand what's weird about it. The other day I was walking past a dog, so I stopped to help it. That dog turned out to be Jeff Bezos' dog and I am now CEO of Amazon. Thank you to my company for this opportunity. #community #weareafamily.

[shre]

Worst combination ever is being unemployed + scrolling LinkedIn 😢 LinkedIn is the most toxic place to be

[benjohnson]

I write on LinkedIn for my company and do some ghostwriting for our C-levels, and I almost did a spit-take when that woman said the tone on the site was conversational. Posts on LinkedIn are the most unnatural sounding things on the internet. It’s really hard for me to write on there because you HAVE to be a certain level of cringe. I hate it.

[JamesRoyceDawson]

THANK YOU. I've despised LinkedIn for years. It's so forced and weird

[mohamedsherif]

"Everybody has to be there, nobody wants to be these" he really summed it up with this sentence.

[adibahmed]

To the people who openly comment something negative to a bad LinkedIn post. You have my respect.

[chlorophyllmorelikeboraphy]

I am so happy the anti-LinkedIn community is so large. I see some of the cringiest stuff on there and feel like I have to like it if I want to be seen by potential employers

[bluenitriletouch]

On the job hunt now, and logging in to LinkedIn every day to apply to jobs and message people is like volunteering to get punched in the face. I was working from a coffee shop one day, and watched a man sign up for a LinkedIn account. The sadness I felt for this person...I wanted to give him a hug.

[dashman]

I actually noticed LinkedIn can sometimes be worse for your mental health then other social media sites. For example if you have been unemployed for a long time and you log on and see a bunch of post from people who got a new job/promotion etc.

[Aupsic-hhsy]

The weirdest thing is that at some point you will be 'forced' to create a LinkedIn profile, being this at school, collegue, a job or whatever, and once you create it, you cannot escape it, ever.

[loraporter]

5 stars for whoever directed and edited this. Leveraging his comedic timing to perfection.

[usisiphoqamata]

My avarage time spent on LinkedIn is probably 2 minutes, max. My reaction is always, "ooh my God, shut up". Everything is taken waaay too serious, I thought I was the only one who found it cringe. Love this video.

[DecadeofDecay]

2:53 "Everybody has to be there and nobody wants to be there". LinkedIn in a nutshell

[pehash]

I think the biggest problem with Linkedin is that it was supposed to be a serious professional networking platform, focused on serious marketplace topics…. Instead you get cringe “positive“, “uplifting” and ofcourse, fake, success stories posted by the so called influencers of the platform.
The fun part for me is to see people with a certain “weight” like CEOs, directors, etc, engaging and promoting this cringe. Its freeking hilarious and a very quick way to lose respect… yet these people are absolutely clueless.

[michellel]

I LOVE Linkedin. It's so fun to see all my bosses cry for attention and their weird takes on news.

[irishmarine]

I hate LinkedIn with a passion, and I hate that you "need" to have one if you're a business professional

[DeLorean]

LinkedIn is where I go to see which highschool and university friends have turned into corporate sellout hacks.
Putting your CV is good, but anyone who actually posts regularly in a non-marketing role is weird af. There's another subset of the population who treats it like regular social media. It's messed up how some people will trash talk brands and discuss extreme political views in a place where their employment information is at everyone's fingertips.