While Instagram has already gained notoriety for contributing to low self-esteem, it seems that another platform has joined the ranks of mood-dampeners. LinkedIn, the professional networking hub that promises to connect us with our dream jobs and industry influencers, has become an unexpected source of existential crisis for one TikToker.
In a video that’s gone viral since its posting on Oct. 15, TikTok user Arianna (@livingonwifi) talks about her problems with LinkedIn, comparing it to the more familiar Instagram. “Going on the LinkedIn pages of other people who are my age is one of the most debilitating things that I can do. It’s worse than Instagram because I can see all of your travel pictures and be like slay,” she says.
@livingonwifi love a success story but truly where are u finding these jobs #linkedin #foryou ♬ original sound – Arianna
What irks Arianna is the discrepancy between her own career path and the polished profiles of her peers. “I go on LinkedIn and somebody my age is, like I see their title Senior VP marketing blah, blah, blah, and I don’t even understand what half the words are but I know that they’re making more money than me,” she says.
“And they’re posting all of these things like ‘Congratulations to my team’. Your team? You have a team? I don’t have a team. I got yelled at about a lemon water earlier today,” she jests.
Arianna wonders how people on LinkedIn her age get to fancy job titles so quickly. She says, “You’re a senior something? How? What, who are you talking to? Who do you know? I don’t apparently know anybody or anything. Because my title is a person who made burritos for three years to make a living. Like what? How are you doing this?”
Arianna’s video struck a chord with viewers, garnering over 463,000 views and sparking a discussion in the comment section.
One user pointed out, “College helps. A lot of people say college is useless but you need it for those jobs.”
“There are probably exceptions, but at that age it’s mostly nepotism. Unless it’s a very small company and then they make very little,” a second commenter added.
The emotional toll LinkedIn takes on its users was a common sentiment, with one commenter saying: “Whenever I am on LinkedIn, my mood just shifts from normally relaxed to stressed out.”
“I hear you, I cancelled LinkedIn years ago,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Arianna via TikTok direct messages for comment.
