LinkedIn cringe fest

Breaking down the drama around LinkedIn posts

LinkedIn - once a land of professional networking and occasional job updates, has turned into a network of over-the-top personal essays that make you wonder if you're on the wrong platform. What was once a space to share career milestones has morphed into a melting pot of humblebrags, life lessons drawn from bizarre situations, and enough hashtags to crash a server.

The best part? These posts are so hilariously out of place that they’re almost entertaining. If you’ve spent even five minutes scrolling through LinkedIn, you’ve seen them: posts so dramatic they belong in Bollywood, life lessons squeezed out of the most random situations, and motivational quotes that would make your family WhatsApp group admin proud.

Let’s break down the greatest hits from this cringe fest.

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1. The Over-Dramatic Personal Story

Here’s the classic setup: something mildly inconvenient happens, but the writer decides it’s an epic saga of survival and professional growth.

‘I was choking on a piece of broccoli at lunch, and that’s when I realized the importance of leadership under pressure.’

What are you even saying, Sunil? You choked because you didn’t chew properly. How did this become a metaphor for handling tight deadlines?

Source

The Indian remix of this genre often involves local trains, chai, or pani puri.

‘I missed my Virar fast and had to stand on a slow train for 45 minutes. That’s when I learned the value of patience and persistence.’

No, Rahul, you just learned that you should leave the office on time. And the auntie next to you who shoved you with her elbow wasn’t teaching you assertiveness; she just wanted space for her handbag.

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2. The Unrelated Life Lesson

This is where someone takes a completely random situation and stretches it into a professional metaphor so thin you can see right through it.

‘What my toddler taught me about teamwork when she threw spaghetti on my head.’

Maybe the toddler didn’t want to teach you anything and she was just upset because you wouldn’t let her watch Cocomelon.

Or something like, ‘I went to get samosas for my team, but the vendor said he was out of stock. That’s when I learned the importance of supply chain management.’

No, Pooja, you learned that you should order samosas earlier if your team eats like it’s a wedding buffet.

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3. The ‘10 Lessons’ Overload

You’ve seen this one: a list post that promises deep insights but delivers nothing you couldn’t find on the back of a Lays packet.

‘10 things I learned from my first marathon,’ they write, conveniently leaving out the fact that they walked half of it and cried through the rest.

And let’s not forget the ’10 lessons I learned while waiting in line for biryani during Eid.’

Trust me, neither me nor LinkedIn is ready for this level of analysis.

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4. The Weirdly Inspirational Quote

Ah, the LinkedIn motivational quote: vague, dramatic, and shared like it holds the secret to success. It’s as if every poster thinks they’re the modern-day Kabir, but their wisdom is about as deep as a WhatsApp forward.

’If life gives you lemons, make nimbu pani.’ – Ancient wisdom (and my chai vendor last week).

We see what you’re doing, ma’am. This isn’t profound; it’s just thirsty work trying to make a metaphor out of everything. And yet somehow, this will get 3,000 likes from people who’ll comment “🔥🔥🔥 So true!”

I feel like posting this at times

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5. The #HashtagOverdose

No LinkedIn cringe post is complete without a flurry of hashtags that read like someone threw their CV into a blender.

#MondayMotivation #LeadershipGoals #Teamwork #NeverGiveUp #StartUpLife #WorkHardPlayHard #BiryaniForLife

The Indian hashtag game is next level:
#TechiesOfHyderabad #ChaiPeCharcha #JugaadMentality #TrainDiaries #VadaPavIsLife

Pick two hashtags, Ananya. Your post isn’t a campaign for the next general election.

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Let’s be honest: as much as we roll our eyes at these posts, they’re kind of addictive. They’re like the dramatic TV serials we pretend not to watch but secretly enjoy.

So, the next time you log into LinkedIn and see a post about “10 lessons I learned while getting stuck in Bangalore traffic,” just smile. These posts remind us that no matter how serious the corporate world tries to be, there’s always room for a little unintended comedy.

And who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll write my own cringe post:
’Writing this blog taught me about the power of humor and relatability. #WriterLife #ContentCreation #SendChai’

Now, excuse me let me share it on my LinkedIn. 😉

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The weirdness of LinkedIn reminds me of something else that's just as strange—neighbors. And

Rohan Banerjee

has captured this experience perfectly in their article.

Know Thy Neighbour

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