To selfie or not to selfie? That's the question some professionals are wrestling with, trying to balance the higher engagement the photos provide with the perception that sharing them in work-related contexts is "cringe." But with AI fatigue setting in and more camera-comfortable Gen Zers aging into the workforce, it may be time to throw out the old rules. "Your face, voice, energy and personality" are key to building parasocial bonds, writes marketer Arielle Berlinsky. And, as Tara Crymble notes, they also signal that you're a person, not a bot.
Studies are showing that Gen Z is the most chronically online generation, and I think the reason Gen Z is so comfortable turning everything into content is not that we are vain, but that we were raised completely differently than the generation right before us.
Millennials were the first generation told, professionally and academically, that anything you post online can be used against you. Everything lives forever; be careful; watch what you put out there. That warning shaped an entire generation's relationship with the internet. Post less, be cautious, and more than anything, keep the personal and the professional far apart.
Gen Z got the opposite conditioning. We were photographed and posted our entire lives, often before we could consent to it, so being documented never felt like a risk; it just felt like existing. On top of that, we are the first generation that has only ever known smartphones that take a photo and send it straight to a feed in the same motion. The distance between a moment happening and a moment being shareable is basically zero for us, and it always has been.
And while we are at it, let’s layer one more thing on top... smartphones turned anyone into a photographer. Social media turned anyone into a creator or an internet entrepreneur. And when you put those two things together, a phone can document anything literally, which means any moment, any idea, any thought can become content, and content can become a monetizable opportunity.
And now there are literal degrees that make people experts in this. New media has always been a field you could study, but it has been modernized for the creator economy, with real programs in influencer marketing, content, podcasting, and production. The thing older generations still roll their eyes at is actively becoming an academic and professional discipline.
Here is the part I think the older generation misreads more than anything. When they see us posting constantly, they interpret it as doing more for the sake of the flex. We are not posting more to look busy; we are posting more to maximize potential opportunity and ROI. Every post is a low-cost shot at reach, connection, or revenue, and when the cost of documenting is basically zero, not posting starts to feel like leaving money and opportunity on the table.
It is not that Gen Z lost the plot on privacy or professionalism; we were handed a completely different set of tools, a completely different set of rules, and a completely different understanding of what a phone and a feed are actually for.
Curious where everyone lands on this one, especially across generations. Do you see posting as risk, or as opportunity?
Gen Z officially cracked the LinkedIn code!
I’ve built a community of 55K+ here, & some of my highest-performing posts over the past two years have reached MILLIONS of impressions.
A pattern I keep seeing? There’s a photo or video of me in them.
Especially in an age where our feeds are filling up with more AI-generated content, your face, voice, energy & personality are becoming some of the most valuable parts of your personal brand as a digital thumbprint.
As a Gen Zer myself, I know our generation gets this on a deeper level. We grew up alongside social media. We learned how to build relationships both on & offline. We understand that showing up as yourself doesn’t have to mean an expensive studio, fancy suit or perfect headshot.
Sometimes it’s grabbing your phone in a sweatshirt because you have something to say right now. Or posting from your fav coffee shop. Even memes to share a glimpse into your sense of humor.
When someone can connect your name to your face, smile, the way you speak & little things that make your content yours, you start to feel familiar. Almost like a friend FaceTiming in with advice.
But copying what everyone else is doing because it “performs” will only make you look like…everyone else. Please leave the corporate jargon in the boardroom. Give me a reason to remember you.
The only unfair advantage? There’s only one you.
There’s power in consistency, but putting myself out there on LinkedIn has communicated my energy & personality in a way no cover letter or cold DM ever could. It’s brought very real opportunities from brand deals & job offers to speaking engagements & more.
If Gen Z is leading the charge in pouring more of ourselves into our LinkedIn content, I hope every generation joins us. It’s a pretty cool club to be part of.
LinkedIn is a social platform after all. Let’s make it feel human together. 🤝