If you were to search “social media problems” into Google Scholar and refine your search to articles published in 2021, you’ll return 26,400 results in about 0.08 seconds. We all have at least one profile on the major platforms by now, and while there is a certain market churn that will occur over time (remember myspace?) it seems for now we are stuck with some pretty big companies being the gateway for most people to access news, information, entertainment, and even employment. The finer details of what social media platform is best might be better left to discussions between friends over a drink, but I want to spend a moment talking about why I think one platform in particular seems to work pretty well.
That platform as the headline implies is LinkedIn, which bills itself as “the world's largest professional network with nearly 740 million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.” its vision? “create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.” and its mission is to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” I signed up for a LinkedIn profile well before I was ever a working professional, but over the last year it has become my social media platform of choice when it comes to investing time in. I post all the articles I write to LinkedIn, and anytime an old friend or colleague reaches out to me on another platform I let them know where they can find me posting actively. I’m not trying to bash other platforms, rather I want to highlight the one thing that keeps many different kinds of people coming back to LinkedIn, and why it’s generally a better place to live online for the aspiring young professional.
On all social platforms, you try to put your best foot forward. While some will use a Facebook feed or Instagram story as a diary of sorts, most people want to post major life updates or vacation pictures. The darker side of course are people who want to cyber bully or even get into heated arguments with strangers over social issue they have no real control over. I used Google Scholar before as a reference because certainly the effect this has on minds both young and old should be studied in detail, and the results should inform the way we as individuals use these new tools.
I wrote on election day about the difference between positive and zero sum relations
hips. Where politics are by definition zero-sum (someone must win and someone must lose) business relationships are positive sum. I purposefully do not post about politics on LinkedIn, and I immediately remove from my feed anyone who does. The one reason why LinkedIn works is that it caters to working people, and engenders a culture of professionalism as a result. If we all could live a life where we never have to deal with people we dislike (something else I've written about) I don’t think the world would be a very interesting place. Growing up, you should learn that there are people who are different from you, and hopefully you learned to tolerate them and coexist. The professional world is no different. All of us are trying to sell our skills and talents in exchange for dollars (pesos, yen, etc), and LinkedIn is slowly becoming the place where we do it.
Where other platforms reward controversial and angry content, LinkedIn so far seems to reward inspiring stories and motivational content. I do believe that commerce and business are like a lubricant that can bring many different types of people together. Irrespective of where you live, or what your believe, we all want the best for ourselves, our families, our friends, and broader communities. So leave the politics on Facebook and come to LinkedIn for professional, motivating, and insightful content. It’s what I endeavor to produce for the platform on a daily basis.
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