At some point last year, I realized I had replaced a bad habit with what could potentially be an even worse one. I wasn’t scrolling Instagram as much anymore — not because I wanted less social media, but because I had quietly replaced it with LinkedIn.
Instead of curated quarter dumps and vacation photos, my feed became filled with internship announcements, consulting acceptances, and “I’m excited to share…” updates. And with every post, I felt the same familiar emotion many college students know too well: comparison.
The shift might seem harmless, even productive, but it signals something larger: young people are learning to measure their worth through employability long before they even enter the workforce.
Most of us are no strangers to tying our worth to social media apps and the content we so mindlessly consume, and to the jealousy and inferiority that stem from enthralling ourselves with a digitally perfectly curated snapshot of others’ lives.
So when platforms like LinkedIn turn what used to be quiet and humble achievements into a loud, obnoxious scoreboard screaming “look at me, look at me,” it can feel all-consuming.
A New Area Of Concern
Instead of FOMO or the latest trends, young students are now obsessed with work and boasting about their career success. This growing habit of treating college as a four-year recruiting cycle — rather than a period of exploration — raises an important question: what does it say about our society when teenagers feel pressure to build a resume before they even have time to build a sense of self?
Living in the age we do, where money and prosperity dominate success, societal values have permeated the minds of teenagers and young students, perpetuating a cyclical pattern of corporate earnings and turnover.
This growing obsession with LinkedIn, which I have seen my friends and peers succumb to as well, shows that love and learning are losing out to labor. It’s no longer about passion, experience, and figuring it all out, but rather about what path can make you the most successful career-wise.
I’m sure most of us know the feeling all too well: scrolling and scrolling until you stop at the announcement that makes your jaw drop, stomach churn, and eyes roll — your greatest opp just bagged your dream internship. The immediate group chat texts flood in, and you stand there wondering why not you. But why do we care so much?
New Job Culture Affects All Of Us
Part of the answer lies in how early the timeline of “success” has been pushed forward. First-year students now arrive on campus already talking about recruiting cycles, networking strategies, and return offers with eyes already set on landing that big Junior year offer.
When the culture around us constantly signals that every quarter or semester is merely a stepping stone toward the workforce, it becomes difficult not to internalize the belief that our employability measures our worth.
I want to add that there is nothing wrong with sharing success, being proud of one’s effort, and being excited about a future career. I also humbly and hypocritically acknowledge that I am no stranger to this mindset, having curated my own LinkedIn profile and simultaneously falling victim to the doomscrolling clutch of comparison.
The issue is with what values society pushes onto us to enforce these feelings of comparison, unworthiness, and competition.
We truly should feel nothing but happiness for others and their offers, but that can be difficult when jealousy floods our feeds. And, even when we are proud of our peers and ourselves, that familiar voice more often than not comes back to remind us what we lack.
Additionally, the implications this has on our college experience transform it from a time of learning into a time of labor. Passion becomes secondary to practicality, curiosity gives way to optimization, and the question “What do I want to learn?” is replaced with “What will look best on my resume?”
Especially at UCSB, where the number one party school coincides with exceptionally high academic standards, the combination of academic and social pressure can leave you feeling totally lost. If it’s not the fact that you missed a coffee chat or recruiting event, it’s the fact that your weekend wasn’t as fun and exciting as your peers’.
It’s notoriously hard to balance both academics and a social life, but going to UCSB, where everyone seems to have both all figured out, can be ridiculously draining.
Take a step back and see the full picture
On top of all this stress comes the uncertainty of the current job market and increasing pressure to achieve a college degree, all while companies cut entry-level positions for graduates.
We see our peers succeeding and assume there must be something wrong with us, when in reality, it’s a notoriously hard and uncertain time for varying degrees and positions.
So, while society pushes on to us the idea that we are workers first and individuals second, take a step back, disconnect, and go explore your worth and values beyond a prosperity-driven mindset. Internships, titles, and offers will come and go, but the values, passions, and sense of self we build during these years will shape us far longer than any line on a resume.
Success should not be defined solely by how early we begin working, but by how fully we allow ourselves to grow before we do.