[Note: I originally wrote this post back in… mid 2024! And it is still true today because, lo-and-behold, I deactivated my account again in March 2026. Ha.]
If you’ve been looking for me on LinkedIn, you won’t find me.
LinkedIn and I are in a complicated relationship, so I’ve been taking a break from the platform since the end of June. I don’t miss it – and, tbh, it probably doesn’t miss me either.
Here’s why I’m not sure if I will actively return (though I’ll never say never!)
Everything about LinkedIn is draining to me
I don’t know about you, but every time I used to open the LinkedIn homepage, I felt drained.
To be honest, all social media platforms overwhelm me (which is why I prefer being a social butterfly in person) but LinkedIn, specifically, felt like the joy was being sucked out of me with every word I read.
If it wasn’t from somebody congratulating themselves about their different-but-same new job, it was from those annoyingly incessant one-line productivity gurus, or it was an old colleague being obnoxious about something. And I just didn’t have time for any of that anymore.
In my opinion, there are no genuine connections on LinkedIn alone. And I will (but not really) die on that hill.
Unless you’re there looking for a job – which I am not – or touting for corporate clients, the only other value I see for it is being another credibility touchpoint. It’s also good for finding long-lost professional connections (but a caveat on that later!)
Even in some IRL settings, it seems a lot of the people you meet ask for your LinkedIn just to collect connections. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if they’re looking to continue the conversation, but I can’t recall more than a handful of people in the last year or so who I’ve connected with and actually kept in touch with outside of the platform.
Of the ones I wanted to maintain a proper connection with, I followed up via email and usually also found them on Instagram. The ones that were going to do the whole collecting thing ended up falling away, anyway.
If we’re really being honest, a lot (but not all) of LinkedIn is about a new wave of influencers marketing to other people who are trying to grow their personal brand in a very same-y way, possibly for another business that might then replace them for a quieter person who they may end up making redundant (or for an algorithm) 🙁
And then that person will put up a begging post about how they’re struggling to feed their children or overcoming their battle with [insert personal crisis that isn’t appropriate for social media].
No matter how much I attempted to prune my home feed to focus on the people I wanted to see by unfollowing and removing the types that did this, it just took up so much time to keep teaching the algorithm.
Seriously, I’m channelling my inner Melania here because I really don’t care, do u?
My client base isn’t there
Even though I (now) maintain a profile on the platform, I’m of the opinion that engaging is a waste of my time because the personal element of my client base isn’t there.
LinkedIn is mainly for corporate back-slapping, and I am no longer corporate – nor do I care about aligning myself with corporate organisations outside of the people who have left them. I let go of that effort a long time ago.
The well-meaning advice on setting up a LinkedIn profile to sell your business services is definitely useful, but it’s not for everyone. And I’ll admit that it worked well for me at the beginning of my business journey when I was working with corporate clients, but I’m not entirely sure it’s the most appropriate avenue for me now.
Anyone who is creatively inclined, neurodivergent, or going their own way probably won’t be doing the LinkedIn dance for the reasons I just mentioned above – unless they’re looking to contact corporate clients for the service they’re offering or running. But then you’re not likely to find them making any of those repulsive, attention-seeking posts.
Like I said earlier, LinkedIn is for marketing. It’s for selling yourself to a particular set of corporate hostages – and that’s not to say that other social media platforms aren’t doing exactly the same thing, but this is a very specific, heavily business-oriented type of selling.
If you have no intention, inclination, or desire to work with these types of clients, there is no real reason for you to be active on LinkedIn (but by all means, have a profile). You can befriend the people you want to network with outside of platforms like this.
My ethos is to share and attract authentically, rather than to chase algorithmically. Because why should I be struggling to figure out the best times to post and what hashtags to use? F that.
I’m not about to subject myself to the drain that is LinkedIn if there’s little in it for me by doing so. And if you’re finding yourself nodding along to this, just know that anyone who tries to force you to do the LinkedIn hustle is a charlatan selling you a pipedream.
Don’t let them tell you what to do. If the clients you want to work with aren’t using LinkedIn for active engagement, don’t freaking bother. Focus your efforts elsewhere, on methods that have shown you concrete results.
Privacy reasons
One of my biggest issues with LinkedIn is the amount of personal information people just carelessly put out there. Because, yes, your business needs be found easily – but not at the expense of your peace.
Besides how easy it makes stalking old colleagues/frenemies/Tinder dates, as I said earlier, you literally tell people where they can find you most evenings and they can work out how much you earn based on your job titles and experience.
Many people, sensibly, now have private social media accounts. But someone with nefarious intentions could easily impersonate or dox you using the details on your LinkedIn, purely because you have an opinion they don’t agree with. For that reason alone, I’ve sanitised most of my previous work information.
I’m not a paranoid person (because, who do I think I am?!) In fact, I’m an open book to people with good vibes who ask nicely – I just don’t think it’s appropriate to be publicly sharing too much information about yourself to all and sundry.
There’s definitely an argument to be made that every social media platform has way too much information about us. But on LinkedIn in particular, we seem to be happy about oversharing, hoping it might open us to potential opportunities.
Everything that’s publicly written about me is information I’ve allowed or put there myself, or information that legally needs to be available publicly. I will happily share what I’m doing after the fact, but I’m not tempted to over-share to force my “relatability”.
Lots of my fellow small business owners are on LinkedIn as a strong marketing choice. But they also have their own networks, and their full professional history is on a need-to-know basis.
And one last point: did you also know that LinkedIn has the right to, “use, copy, modify, distribute, publish and process, information and content that you provide through our Services and the services of others, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or others.”?
All social media platforms have similar legal wording to be able to share your stuff, but it’s all the more reason why you shouldn’t be posting things you intend to keep sacred, in places you have no control over, for people who you hope will be paying you in the future.
This is the primary driver behind the bullshit that is generic or AI-generated “thought leadership” (ick). Sadly, most of it is stolen without credit to its original author.
So what?
Of course, this is just my personal opinion. But all of this is to say: make sure you use social media, and any other marketing avenues, intentionally. Don’t just sign up for ~all the things~ just because some random guru told you it’s important to be everything everywhere all at once.
I use this blog (and soon-to-come newsletter) as my primary platform to tell you how I help my clients and keep you updated on my business. And then I have Instagram because I’m a ‘core’ millennial who likes to keep in touch with people I meet in a personal, low-pressure way.
By all means, follow your faves for useful content in your preferred way of getting it – but if you’re following someone thinking they’re going to tell you something new and groundbreaking, then, my friend, you will be disappointed.
If LinkedIn will work well for what you’re aiming to do, then do it – and do it well. If it’s something else, then crack on.
Just make sure you know why you’re using what you’re using. Otherwise, you’re just draining your own energy for no good reason.
*sigh* Note: My LinkedIn profile has since been reactivated for search purposes as of 2 August 2024, following a very useful Fabulous Networking session. But I’m still not an active user and my thoughts above still stand!
