It’s been a day without seeing someone post “some personal news …” on social media somewhere. But what does the rise of presentation culture mean in the post-pandemic world of work?
You saw the post. You know the preface. They are humble bragging rights that you love to hate and hate to love. They are annoying and fun, and you can’t scroll through social media all day without seeing it. Alongside professional awards, I announced two career changes across social media platforms over the course of a year (hate games, not players). One tweet received over 709 likes and Instagram posts reached over 2,000 likes. At some point, after quitting work in 2020, I went to the point of writing a “press release” about my departure on Apple Notes before sharing on Twitter or Instagram. 280 characters wasn’t enough.
After each announcement, all the notices I received were like dopamine hitting my veins straight. It didn’t matter if I knew that person. I was self-righteous, proud and felt at the top of my game. But it didn’t take long for the happiness to disappear and panic, so I desperately searched for something else in the arsenal and announced it. Book deal? baby? Welcome to the era of presentation culture.
When I changed jobs from law (it’s better to die than to brag about promotion) to journalism (otherwise I die) in 2017, I said I would share my professional news and build my career. I felt pressure. To bring my name to the world with personal brands and the industry. Similarly, 27-year-old Dan, who recently switched from law to journalism, felt this. “When I was working in law, no one announced their career change on social media, especially on Twitter,” he says. “If you update your LinkedIn profile all at once, you’ll get a notification on your network, but that’s it.”
But since then, things have changed and everyone, and their dogs, are always announcing something somewhere. engagement. The birth of a child. Relocation to a hot place. Buying real estate. New job. Dismissed or redundant from the above work. And often someone shares himself “very happy …”, “I can’t believe I’m writing this …”, or “very happy sharing …” You’ll know it’s coming before you scroll further. ‘
Between 2020 and 2021, Twitter saw a 59% increase in “personal news” mentions, with the highest daily average of April and May congratulatory tweets. And the culture of presentation now spans a variety of industries. From teachers, architects, politicians, receptionists to artists, musicians and, of course, lawyers, everyone uses social media to promote their work and announce their career changes. This endemic look-at-me behavior is not unique to the most anticipated Twitter or Instagram. It pervades LinkedIn, the sexiest social media platform on the internet.
LinkedIn has reached a new level of popularity as the media hive was busy proclaiming mass layoffs during the pandemic. When launched in 2003, the social media platform was designed to “connect the world’s professionals and make them more productive and successful.” People proudly introduced CV as a way to promote their knowledge, skills, and expertise to market to lurking job seekers and interact with like-minded professionals. These days, the platform has become a bit more personal and much more popular. Over the past year, we’ve seen a 22% increase in the number of feed updates displayed and a 28% increase in public conversations taking place on the platform. Last week, I received a message saying “beautiful” from a man I had never met. And another week, I had a headache with a six-digit job in Dubai (I declined).
LinkedIn career expert Charlotte Davies has seen significant changes in the way people use the platform over the last few years. “The culture of announcements is often perceived as people who just post about success, but what we’re aware of at LinkedIn is that people are more focused on the community than ever before. To seek advice from their network, help others, and connect with each other, not only to share their achievements, but also to share their struggles and challenges.
And the lines between LinkedIn professionals and individuals became even more blurry during the pandemic. “We have begun to see more personal and vulnerable stories emerge on the platform, but through a very professional lens,” says Davis. One such example is Monzo’s technical recruiter, 23-year-old Aisha from London. She opened the door to the community about the hardships she faced as she grew up and how she overcame them. Her post received over 12,000 likes and hundreds of wishes for her new role. The LinkedIn hashtag #newjob has thousands of posts, with many users sharing new jobs, promotions, and even professional and personal anecdotes at various companies.
For 31-year-old entrepreneur Angelica Malin, this is more open, and dare to say, the real side of LinkedIn is a refreshing change. “For me, the platform is viable, because there are so many celebrities that I never actually meet, and I get people to recommend you in terms of verification and proof of value. You can. If used correctly, it’s a live CV. But if you’re only attending to announce your victory, your content isn’t worth it to others. “
The pandemic also prompted one-third of UK workers to consider changing jobs or quit altogether. I left two jobs in a year, but outside the pandemic, it would have been considered crazy. But over the last two years, I’ve realized that I’m in what I really wanted: flexibility, salary increases, new titles, and where I felt valued. LinkedIn, like any other network, hasn’t rethought it before, let alone curation, but to discover what else it has, such as the ability to actually live and work abroad. Has become a powerful resource for. Consider the career trajectory of others through your life as well as a much more personal lens. You’ll find that mass layoff isn’t really about giving up, it’s about reevaluating it. Perhaps talking about our work on our network is even more important now.
Still, this phenomenon has its drawbacks. In the 2021 book Working Hard, Hardly Working, the term “announcement culture” was coined by British influencer Grace Beverley. She describes it as “perpetuating our anxiety about having’things’ to announce in the first place, as the need to announce everything we do is increasing.” I am. This is also a form of satisfaction and verification, which Beverley has struggled with.
“When I first noticed that I was changing my way of running based on this worksharing culture, I started seeing a’presentation culture’everywhere,” she explains. “We need to unravel this productivity perspective in order to lay the true foundation of our career and gain true traction towards our goals,” she said. And sometimes because of the admiration of social media, the quest for “productivity” in the announcements we can show off means that we refrain from actually making great strides beyond surface-level work. ” I’m adding.
Abby Rawlinson, a London-based therapist and member of the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy, agrees. “We can argue that the culture of presentation fuels our need for verification and puts pressure on people to do things that are always worth publishing,” she says. “When you receive a like or comment on a social media post, your brain’s reward center is activated and the’happy’hormone, dopamine, is released. After the first thrill of announcing our achievements, our instinct is often to look for the next verification. It can push us into a cycle of posting regularly and gaining recognition.
This is something I can relate to in that I have to post my own personal announcements. However, Rawlinson warns about the risks associated with being too involved in this cycle. ‘It can lead to stress, burnout, and’productivity anxiety’. When it has not reached “enough”. “
The idea of mass layoff may be sold as one of the pandemic heritage, but in reality, this phenomenon of continuous announcement of new projects slows us down or quits our job forever. I argue that it shows that it is not. In fact, we are working harder than ever. Faced with rising living costs, lack of opportunities, and Brexit that hinders living and work planning abroad, many find it a second or third job to launch their own business or side hustle. I spend more time on my day-to-day work, either to change to or just to ensure security.
Some may turn to a large number of “personal news” posts on social media, but I have no choice but to smile at them. “We shouldn’t be ashamed to tell people about our hard work,” says Rawlinson. “After all, humans are wired for connections – it’s normal to want praise and verification from others. Announcement culture has become a particularly important tool for raising awareness of underrepresented groups. It shows us what is possible. This kind of expression also helps reduce negative stereotypes about other groups.
When I announced the day I became Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, I knew how hard I was doing, so I took pride in doing so. Despite being told by my ex-boss that I wasn’t ready, I hustled and grafted for four years and got that promotion. I can now share my success and find out that one day a young black woman from an autonomous region in the city center can also succeed and break the glass ceiling of another woman. .. Aimèe Jones, a 35-year-old business liaison manager, agrees: I think women should be able to celebrate their success out loud. Let’s face it. Perhaps she had to work harder for her recognition. Marin agrees: “It’s great for women to step up and do more.”
Whether or not you choose to participate in the announcement culture, the flood of personal news posts hasn’t slowed. Then you’ll see the new job’s photo shoot across the feed.
Take off in a competitive manner in the United States. But who says it’s not always a bad thing if an announcement culture allows people to connect globally at a deeper level? So far, as I wrote on Twitter in 2019, there’s only one thing to do. “Some personal news: you can exit the feature and return to watching Netflix with confidence.” Some do not change.
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