One of the things I am finding that loathe more and more in my scroll is how everyone is truly looking like everyone else.
Once a trend hits- it feels like everyone is canceling everything in their day to jump on it and somehow make it work for their business. Fine fair, it’s been too many years and that isn’t going to stop any time soon.
But what I also can’t really seem to get past is how most of LinkedIn has content pieces that feel like someone is trying to impress a professor for a grade. People that I have met IRL who when I read their LinkedIn pieces is as if they suddenly have LinkedIn personality disorder or something.
I’ve been around these platforms to know that most people transform into some kind of corporate robot or an alter super serious version of themselves online. And truly that’s fine- but it is a bit weird when you finally meet the real version of the person and they are NOTHING like their social avatar.
The brands and businesses that I work with it’s always said upfront, that I will do my best to portray how it feels to be in your space, hold your product or have a coffee with you IRL. Because in my opinion there’s enough catfishing happening both IRL and online right now.
But back to the LinkedIn personality phenomenon because it is just so interesting to me right now.
In the professional theater of LinkedIn, many of us undergo a curious metamorphosis. Our multidimensional selves flatten into algorithm-friendly, buzzword-compliant corporate personas that bear little resemblance to who we are in real life.
The condition manifests in predictable ways. Suddenly, ordinary people begin:
Celebrating the most mundane professional developments as "thrilled," "honored," or "humbled"
Speaking exclusively in management consultant jargon and buzzwords
Transforming personal setbacks into inspiring "growth journeys" (Guilty)
Crafting carefully curated versions of themselves that project constant success
What starts as normal professional networking can quickly spiral into a performative exercise where we're all speaking the same artificial language.
This transformation isn't accidental. LinkedIn's ecosystem rewards certain behaviors and penalizes others. The platform's algorithm favors content with high engagement, which typically means success stories, inspirational narratives, and business platitudes. The result? We unconsciously conform to these expectations.
Deeper factors are at work too. In a pretty weird job market, we're incentivized to present idealized professional selves. Employers increasingly screen candidates' social media, making LinkedIn a perpetual interview space where we're always "on." The pressure to appear employable well it drives us toward standardized professional identities whatever we deem them as.
The gap between who we know people to be and how they present themselves online creates cognitive dissonance. We all participate in this charade while privately acknowledging its artificiality but we keep doing it.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.
So how do we get out of this madness- if it’s driving you mad too?
Can we overcome LinkedIn and Social Media Personality Disorder?
Probably not entirely, but we can be the ones who try and break the cycle of insanity:
First, recognize the performance aspect of professional social media. Awareness is the first step toward well anything you want to change about yourself.
Second, experiment with bringing more of your actual personality into your professional persona. AKA stop taking everything SO seriously. The most memorable LinkedIn presences often belong to people who maintain their distinctive voice while remaining professionally appropriate and well themselves.
Finally, remember that the most meaningful professional connections still happen when we engage as complete humans, not as optimized professional algorithm chasers.
The next time you catch yourself writing "I'm excited to announce..." or "Grateful for this amazing opportunity," pause and ask: Is this really me speaking, or have I temporarily transformed into a corporate robot? The answer might be revealing.