The Cure for Happiness: Examining the LinkedIn culture of of corporate posturing and aggrandization.

Or Why LinkedIn Feels Like a Corporate Hunger Games

We live in an era where social media doesn’t just document life—it curates it. From Instagram’s highlight reels of exotic vacations to Twitter’s 280-character thought leadership, every platform has its own flavor of digital self-expression. And then there’s LinkedIn—the supposed “professional” network—where ambition meets personal branding and where a simple career update can sound like the opening pitch of a TED Talk.

LinkedIn started as a space for professionals to connect, share insights, and celebrate career milestones. But somewhere along the way, it morphed into a stage for exaggerated success stories, corporate jargon gymnastics, and relentless self-promotion. It’s the only place where attending a webinar somehow becomes a “strategic deep dive into cross-functional innovation.”

But beyond the buzzwords and humble brags, there’s a growing problem: a platform designed to foster professional growth is often fueling imposter syndrome, anxiety, and a sense that you’re never doing enough. Even worse, everyone talks like there's some invisible HR Admin who punishes you for not using the right, acceptable corporate lingua.

The Epidemic of Fake Accomplishments

If you’ve spent more than five minutes on LinkedIn, you’ve seen the posts:

?? “Thrilled to announce I’ve been entrusted with spearheading a game-changing initiative that will disrupt industry paradigms.”

Translation? They probably just got a new job.

?? “Humbled to share that after months of dedication, I’ve successfully driven synergy within our organization to enhance scalable outcomes.”

Translation? They scheduled a team meeting.

The pressure to make every career moment sound revolutionary has turned LinkedIn into a corporate echo chamber of overhyped achievements. People aren’t just doing their jobs—they’re “orchestrating transformative impact.” This isn’t just embellishment; it’s survival. Because when everyone else is flexing their accomplishments, staying silent feels like falling behind.

This arms race of self-promotion has created a bizarre paradox: a network built to empower professionals often leaves them feeling like they’re not doing enough.

Lost in the Corporate Jargon Jungle

If LinkedIn had an official language, it would be Corporate Speak??. Gone are the days of clear, straightforward communication. Instead, we’re stuck in a maze of buzzwords where “aligning cross-functional synergies” sounds way more impressive than “working with different teams.”

Let’s be real—half the time, corporate jargon doesn’t even mean anything. Consider this masterpiece:

"Excited to leverage innovative frameworks to drive disruptive efficiencies at scale."

This could mean literally anything. Did they implement a new strategy? Fix a broken process? Just have a really productive day? We may never know.

The irony? The more we rely on jargon, the less we actually communicate. Instead of fostering meaningful conversations, LinkedIn posts have become a competition to see who can stuff the most MBA buzzwords into a single paragraph.

The Never-Ending Validation Loop

Of course, none of this would be a problem if LinkedIn wasn’t designed to reward performative success. Every post is a lottery ticket for likes, comments, and shares—the professional equivalent of applause. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t enjoy a little digital validation?

The problem arises when success stops being about actual growth and starts being about perceived growth. When your career feels less about doing meaningful work and more about crafting the perfect announcement post, something’s gone wrong.

For many professionals, this culture leads to burnout, imposter syndrome, and the creeping suspicion that they’re failing because their lives don’t look like the endless parade of wins on their feed. The reality? Most people are figuring things out as they go. They just don’t post about that part.

So, What’s the Fix?

The good news? We can change this. The cure for LinkedIn’s happiness problem isn’t deleting your account and moving to a cabin in the woods (tempting as that may be). It’s about shifting the culture from performance to authenticity.

Here’s how we start:

? Ditch the Jargon. Just say what you mean. You don’t “leverage cross-functional frameworks”—you worked with different teams. You didn’t “spearhead a paradigm shift”—you had an idea that worked.

? Celebrate the Real Stuff. Not every career move has to be groundbreaking. It’s okay to say, “I tried something new and learned a lot,” instead of pretending you single-handedly disrupted an industry.

? Engage Authentically. Instead of liking every self-congratulatory post, start conversations that matter. Share insights, ask questions, and lift others up without feeling the need to posture.

? Remember: LinkedIn is Not Reality. No one posts about the days they feel lost, the job rejections, or the projects that flopped. So if you ever feel like you’re falling behind, take a deep breath—it’s just an illusion.

Final Thoughts: Redefining Success

LinkedIn has the potential to be a powerful tool for connection, learning, and growth. But for that to happen, we need to move past the smoke and mirrors of fake accomplishments and embrace something deeper—real professional journeys, with all their ups, downs, and lessons.

Success isn’t measured in likes or corporate buzzwords. It’s measured in the impact we make, the people we help, and the work we do that actually matters. And if we can shift the culture, maybe—just maybe—LinkedIn can start feeling less like a competitive pressure cooker and more like the community it was meant to be.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go synergize strategic frameworks for scalable engagement.

(Translation: I’m logging off.)

My name is Leslie Williams Isah, a product designer, maker and creative strategist. Feel free connect with me on LinkedIn to talk about design, career or, if you like, Arsenal FC.

Website: https://lesliefolio.framer.website

Book me on Adplist: https://adplist.org/mentors/leslie-isah