The humble bragging is exhausting. "I am humbled to announce my 47th promotion this year." "Grateful to mentor 12,000 people simultaneously." "Started from a hut, now I advise the UN." It is performance. It is validation seeking. It is no different from Instagram flexing, just with corporate language. I posted my real struggle — being fired — and got 3 likes. Someone posted "I woke up at 4 a.m. today" and got 3,000 reactions. LinkedIn rewards vanity, not vulnerability. Are we building careers or curated personas?
