How LinkedIn Ruined Networking

Once upon a time, networking was about genuine relationships. It was about shaking hands at events, sharing ideas over coffee, and building trust before ever bringing business into the equation. It was a slow dance of getting to know someone, sharing interests, understanding their challenges, and figuring out if and how you could help one another.

Then came LinkedIn.

LinkedIn, the platform that was supposed to revolutionize professional networking, has instead trained people to think of networking as a transactional encounter. A request to connect is no longer an invitation to get to know someone—it’s a prelude to an immediate pitch. The moment the connection is accepted, the floodgates open: unsolicited messages, automated outreach, and impersonal sales scripts. Suddenly, networking isn’t about building connections; it’s about hitting quotas and closing deals as quickly as possible.

This shift has fundamentally altered the way professionals engage with one another face-to-face or at events. Instead of engaging in meaningful conversations, our brains have been conditioned to see connections as mere prospects rather than human beings. The platform's very design encourages this behavior. The number of connections, profile views, and engagement metrics are gamified, making it feel like networking is about accumulating numbers rather than cultivating real bonds.

There is nothing wrong with using LinkedIn as a sales and marketing tool - everybody should do that, but too many people now approach networking with a “what can I get from you?” mentality rather than “how can we help each other grow?” They assume that simply being in someone's "network" entitles them to an immediate business exchange. This mixing up sales and marketing with networking leaves no time for rapport or to understand the other person’s goals or challenges—just a desperate rush to close a deal before moving on to the next target.

Real networking builds trust, and trust doesn’t happen overnight. It requires time, consistency, and genuine engagement. It’s about finding common interests, offering value without an immediate expectation of return, and letting relationships develop organically. The strongest professional connections are rooted in mutual respect, not in the pressure to buy something after a two-minute introduction.

Ironically, LinkedIn itself is filled with posts lamenting the very culture it has created. People complain about connection requests that turn into sales pitches within seconds, yet the cycle continues because the platform’s structure rewards it. Thoughtful engagement—commenting on posts, having meaningful discussions, and offering insights without an agenda—takes effort. The transactional approach, on the other hand, is easy, scalable, and heavily automated. And so, the spam persists.

If LinkedIn is going to be part of the networking world, it needs to be used differently. Instead of viewing LinkedIn as a marketing Rolodex to blast sales messages, professionals should use it as a space to contribute, listen, and engage with others in a meaningful way.

Networking is not about making a sale in the first interaction. It’s about planting seeds that may grow into opportunities down the line. If professionals can shift their mindset away from immediate transactions and back to genuine relationship-building, then and only then can LinkedIn become the networking tool it was originally meant to be. Until that happens, the platform will remain what it has unfortunately become—a marketplace of cold pitches masquerading as professional connections.

#linkedin

#networking

#humanconnection

#businessrelations