First published on LinkedIn and Medium on December 5, 2024. 5 min. read. Hal Tezcan

Above is a message I received from LinkedIn in December 2024.

Here are the reasons why I will stop using LinkedIn:

I have used LinkedIn for 18 years, that’s a long time! In the last couple of years I have grown frustrated with LinkedIn’s shift away from strictly professional content. Since I have decided hanging up my jacket for the final time and fully concentrate on my retirement, I have also decided to say goodbye to LinkedIn.

Here’s why politically motivated and personal Facebook and Instagram like posts amongst other things on LinkedIn have pushed me to quit.

Dilution of Professional Focus

– LinkedIn’s original purpose as a professional networking site is undermined when users post political rants, personal anecdotes, or viral content. If you’re there strictly for career-related engagement, this shift can feel frustrating.

Echo Chambers and Polarization

– Politically motivated posts often create polarized discussions and echo chambers (good for nothing!). Heated debates overshadow constructive dialogue and harm professional relationships, making the platform feel divisive.

Discomfort with Oversharing

– Personal or emotional posts (e.g., stories about failures, health issues, or family matters) feel out of place on a platform meant for professional connections. If such content is off-putting, it can make LinkedIn feel more like Facebook or Instagram (or even TikTok).

Reduced Credibility

– A flood of non-professional (and sadly not fact checked) posts makes LinkedIn feel less credible as a professional network. This is especially concerning if you rely on it for serious business searches or serious networking.

Distracting and Irrelevant

– Political or personal (posts that belong to Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, etc.) content often feel like noise, detracting from the actionable insights, networking, or learning opportunities you originally joined LinkedIn to find.

Engagement Over Substance

– Many users chase likes and comments by posting controversial or emotionally charged topics, prioritizing visibility over meaningful substance contributions (unfortunately this is the state of the social media…). This “gamification” can diminish the quality of interactions and turn LinkedIn into a Facebook or Instagram and even TikTok.

Time Consumption

– LinkedIn can be a significant time sink, with its notifications, updates, and professional FOMO.

Stress from Comparisons

– Constant exposure to others’ (real or exaggerated) achievements and success stories can lead to feelings of inadequacy or imposter syndrome.

Unwanted Networking Pressure

– Networking and maintaining a professional image can start to feel like a chore, especially if you’re not actively seeking a job or growing your career in traditional ways.

Spam and Irrelevant Content

– Over time, the platform has been filled with totally irrelevant content, promotional messages, sales pitches of all kinds, or spam from recruiters and salespeople, which has started to detract from its usefulness and purpose.

Minimal Professional Benefit

– If your industry doesn’t rely heavily on LinkedIn, or if you already have a solid professional network, this platform is really not of much value.

Fake Personas and Over-Curation

– The platform has become an encouragement for overly polished and curated personas, which can feel inauthentic and exhausting to keep up with. I call this the “bullshit” and “fakeness” factor!

Burnout from Constant Updates

– Staying active on LinkedIn requires frequent updates, engagements, and profile optimizations. Maintaining an active presence feels overwhelming, and even a burden.

Here’s a deeper dive into how these issues can impact our LinkedIn experience:

1. Dilution of Professional Focus

– Purpose Drift: LinkedIn started as a professional networking platform to share industry insights, job opportunities, and career advice. However, as personal and viral content grows, the original purpose becomes harder to see.

– Inappropriate Content: Non-professional posts about vacations, selfies, or viral trends can clash with expectations for professionalism, making the platform feel cluttered.

– Difficulty in Finding Value: With more noise in the feed, high-quality, career-focused content becomes harder to find. This makes LinkedIn less valuable for skill development, networking, or staying updated on your industry.

2. Polarization

– Hostile Discussions: Political posts often spark heated debates that can alienate connections. Unlike other social platforms, disagreements here occur in a space tied to your professional identity, making them riskier.

– Echo Chambers: Users may engage only with posts that reflect their own political or ideological beliefs. This limits exposure to diverse viewpoints and creates polarized cliques.

– Professional Fallout: Engaging in polarizing topics can harm your reputation. Even innocuous comments can be misconstrued, potentially affecting job prospects or relationships with colleagues.

3. Political Pressure

– Pressure to Conform: LinkedIn’s professional nature often amplifies the impact of public stances on political or social issues. Some companies or industries expect their employees to echo organizational values, which can feel like coerced participation. (This is an unnecessary political pressure from a certain group of people bent on thinking they are right and others are wrong!)

– Fear of Repercussions: Opting out of sharing or commenting on trending political topics may label you as indifferent, while engaging might invite unwanted scrutiny or criticism.

– Virtue Signaling: Many users post about political or social issues to showcase their values, but these posts can sometimes feel performative or inauthentic.

4. Irrelevance

– Misaligned Content: Posts on general or irrelevant topics (e.g., motivational quotes, personal life stories) can feel out of place, especially if you’re looking for industry-specific knowledge or networking.

– Recruitment Spam: Generic or irrelevant job postings and recruiter messages can crowd your inbox, detracting from the platform’s usefulness.

– Algorithmic Failures: LinkedIn’s algorithms may prioritize engaging content over relevant content. This means your feed could show viral posts with little connection to your interests or industry.

– Loss of Professionalism and Integrity: When LinkedIn starts resembling Facebook, it loses its distinctiveness as a professional tool. If people treat it as a casual social network, it might no longer serve your career needs.

Why It Matters

The shift from LinkedIn as a professional network to a hybrid social media platform creates confusion about its role and function. For individuals seeking professional development or networking, the platform’s increasingly personal and polarized nature is undermining its effectiveness and relevance.

If these trends are also detracting significantly from your experience, you might choose to leave — or take steps to curate your feed, limit engagement, or even explore alternatives that better align with your goals, just like me.

I wish you all the best.

Hulusi “Hal” Tezcan

PS.: Don’t tell me I did not try to get LinkedIn to work properly for me. But as it is the case with everything “Microsoft” touches, the learning algorithm for LinkedIn, especially after the Microsoft take-over, is dismal is not stupid at best. I have tried to help (By selecting the below options shown below thousands of times…) it’s algorithm work for my needs thousands if not more times, but in vain.

Here is (below) a pop-up you must be all familiar with, but Microsoft and Linked just send it for kicks, no real AI behind it (And I have Premium Subscription for years!)

You know, my favorite American standup master comedian Ron White says it so well: STUPID IS FOREVER, no school, no classes, no medicine to get rid of it…