If you have been following me for some time, then you might already be aware that I’ve been making a name for myself in the professional circle. Well, within the tech space at least. And for someone that has been blessed with both a platform and a voice 🗣️, I genuinely believe that I have a responsibility to use it to speak up/out regarding certain real issues that other front-end engineers like me have been struggling with. Well, at least, that was the idea.
But…it’s not hard to realize that on a platform like LinkedIn (or any other social platforms, professional or otherwise), majority of the people that use it don’t really want to care about the real issues. They are just there for the positive, feel-good vibes type of content. Anything that may require them to consider a certain type of response is something that they might actively try to avoid.
Ever since 2018, I’ve been on a mission to present myself as someone that’s not only authentic and genuine in-person, but also when I’m online, be it on Instagram, LinkedIn, or BlueSky (I was formerly using X like everyone else). Since then, in all that time, I can count almost with two hands, the number of times my “authentic/genuine” postings actually received plenty of comments and reactions. Not many. In many of those cases where the engagements were low or non-existent, I would also receive private feedback and opinions from others about how they find my “authentic” posts offensive, or simply annoying. They would often “ask” that I not share such things online.
Just to be clear, none of my posts were politically motivated. In fact, I always do my best to avoid and steer clear of topics that doesn’t interest me. I like to keep to the things that I am most familiar with, and that’s being in the tech space like most of my peers.
But after everything, it is starting to become clear to me that most people simply cannot be bothered with the “real stuff”. And yes, sometimes, these “Real Stuff” can be slightly heavy. They can be emotional. They could be someone simply having a really bad day at the office. And they just needed someone who can “listen” to them, and “agree” or “support” them. It shouldn’t require a lot of energy or effort to type something meaningful and supportive either. At least, that’s my opinion.
What about you? What’s your opinion and thoughts when it comes to sharing stuff online that is authentic and genuine? Would you still do it even when others might find it annoying? Perhaps even in some cases, offensive? I look forward to reading about your thoughts on this.
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