IF YOU’VE HAD the misfortune of logging onto LinkedIn lately, I can only assume you’re still trying to wash the burning sensation of utter corporate cringe out of your eyeballs.

What started out in 2003 as a legitimately useful, if somewhat boring, social media platform aimed at professionals and jobseekers has, in recent years, descended into nauseating levels of humblebrags, performative posts and life lessons written with a heavy sprinkling of AI.

LinkedIn was never meant to be the cool kid of the social media world, of course. All that virtual backslapping for corporate achievements using cringey business speak has always felt a bit naff.

For most office workers, hearing soulless workplace jargon that would put David Brent or Severance’s Lumen Corporation to shame in real-life meetings was bad enough, but it somehow felt even more awkward and stilted when done online.

Writing things like; “I’m delighted to announce I’m exploring x, y, or z,” or endorsing someone’s critical skills you haven’t seen since rag week in college or hailing a post about someone’s corporate journey as “truly inspiring,” was undoubtedly performative networking, but as eyerolling as it was, it felt just about tolerable, especially as the corporate world moved more into the digital era.

There was even a time, and in some sectors, this still applies, when having an updated and active LinkedIn profile became an important part of climbing the corporate ladder or just getting a foot in the door. It was a space that allowed graduates and eager job seekers to connect with peers and companies. Recruiters began to use it to headhunt talent, even preferring the individuals’ profiles themselves over the once-hallowed CV.

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It became a cringey, but necessary evil, where you talked the talk because your current or prospective boss might very well be looking at your posts, but that was part of the........

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