LinkedIn is the professional networking platform university students know all too well.

Marketed under the guise of productivity, the app is associated with the same mental health consequences as any other form of social media.

Other than its basic elements – users can like, comment and share their peers’ posts – LinkedIn is different from other social media platforms because consumers use it to advance their careers. Instagram may evoke envy with beach pics and overpriced, aestheticized cocktails, but LinkedIn introduces further contention: professional competition.

With each scroll, users are berated by their peers’ career successes.

LinkedIn has been revolutionary in terms of kickstarting students’ careers, alerting them to job openings.

Kellie Barnum, a second-year graduate student at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, said it also allows people to build their network.

“It’s a way to stay connected outside of Instagram,” said Barnum, the president of the Anderson Student Association. “It’s more of a professional way to let people know what you’re doing.”

Pablo Torne, a second-year graduate student at the School of Management, said he also appreciates the geographic convenience factor that LinkedIn offers.

“Most of my network is not in LA and doesn’t see me quite often, so posting on LinkedIn is a way to stay top of mind to all of them,” Torne said.

With more than 200 million active members, the United States is the country with the most LinkedIn users, which is significant given the country has a total population of almost 350 million. More than half of those users are in their mid-20s to early-30s, including recent college graduates.

Simultaneously, communication has become the primary source of career scouting, with close to 85% of jobs revolving around networking.

Ergo, the LinkedIn phenomenon.

Students are introduced to LinkedIn to strengthen their resume. Yet, quickly, a quasi addiction begins.

As users scroll through job acceptance and grad-school commitment posts, the algorithm perpetuates an endless cycle of commiseration and encouragement.

LinkedIn connections present a superficial relationship, Torne said.

“I think people confuse getting a connection with networking,” he said.

While it only takes the click of a button to add someone to your network, building a professional working relationship takes more effort.

Followers on LinkedIn are arbitrary, and not always indicative of a strong professional profile.

The app that, just a few years ago, was groundbreaking for the professional world, has quickly become a burden on students’ mental health.

LinkedIn is moving up considerably in the ranks of toxic media networks, despite experts more frequently linking platforms like TikTok and Instagram to mental health decline among younger adults. Excessive use of the professional networking platform is correlated to an increase in stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression.

Moderation is key when it comes to social media usage, including one’s time on LinkedIn.

“We all need to figure out how to manage our online presence with our mental health, because being on your phone consistently is just not good for your overall health,” Barnum said.

Both impostor syndrome and social comparison promote these negative emotions among users.

“Your resume is online, which I think can be intimidating to some people, but can also be motivating,” Barnum added.

Notifications encouraging users to interact with and congratulate members of their network on job promotions, awards or commitments have been linked to feelings of envy, self-doubt and inadequacy among users.

Despite having over 4,000 followers on LinkedIn, William Li, a fourth-year cognitive science and economics student, still shares this pressure.

“This person got into XYZ firm and I didn’t, that can create peer pressure. I think that’s a very big element that can hurt students, especially in today’s job market,” said Li, the former president of the Bruin Investment and Trading Group.

Li urges students to instead use LinkedIn for leisure in addition to networking, adding that content feels more organic that way.

“It doesn’t have to be about your job. I share all the time … like, ‘Hey, I played my first round of golf’ or ‘I went skydiving today,’” Li said.

While some students may find ways to make the platform more entertaining, it all comes down to personal preference.

So next time you’re doomscrolling on LinkedIn, give yourself some grace, and remember – everyone else is winging it just as much as you are.