10 January,2023 10:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Shriram Iyengar
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It started with Orkut and Facebook before a flood of dating apps took over the online social lives of Gen Z. But in their search for serious, long-term connections, a number of people are turning to the professional network LinkedIn. A HumansOfBombay story in December about a couple finding love on the platform exemplified the changing nature of the platform's use. Yet, in the modern corporate workspace, where an individual's social media is monitored carefully, does this search for companionship come with risks? Dating coaches and management trainers delve into the pros and cons of this new trend.
Those who turn to LinkedIn as a means to find dates are looking at stability. From their career graphs, educational backgrounds to financial standing, it is easier to verify and run a background check on the person. It is almost like the HR recruiting someone for an important post. After all, you are looking to recruit the most important partnership in your life. Their work and profile also reflects on the individual's ability to take on responsibility, their focus and ambition. This is data you will not find on a dating or matrimonial site. It is self-attested. I have personally seen people go out on first dates and later stalk each other on LinkedIn. I also know of individuals who would not go on a first date if they are unable to look up the person on LinkedIn. Dating apps in India are barely a decade old, and still carry
a stigma. Eventually, how you enter a relationship is 0.001 per cent of the conversation. How you build on it makes a larger difference.
One of the reasons for daters using the platform is to have serious and honest conversations, especially for women seeking long-term commitment. The younger generation has tried apps which promise serious dating, but there is a clichéd pattern. With LinkedIn, the prospective partner's work, mutual connections and reference add to authenticity. Of course, there is a risk of it reflecting poorly on your professionalism. But it also reflects that the person asking someone out on LinkedIn is taking a risk. This means that they are being authentic. Never randomly pick someone you haven't met outside of an official set up. Unless you have mutual friends, avoid messaging someone informally on the platform.
LinkedIn itself has evolved since the onset of COVID-19, becoming a platform to show off professional achievements and growth. It has turned into a corporate Facebook or Instagram. Given that a lot of a person's characteristics are found on LinkedIn, it lends itself to something beyond the professional scope as well. On the platform, the profile picture and mutual connections ensure that you are more open to making new connections. The chances of falsification of profile and identity are much lesser. There are issues with it though. Getting into people's direct messages is a taboo, and doing it on a professional platform is a risk. Personally, I would not recommend it. It can only function as a tool for verification, but to kick-start a dating conversation on the platform is unhealthy for your career.
The platform is different from other social media sites in that it sticks to a very professional search and verification algorithm. It works best as a medium to look for references and leads. There are also people seeking relationships, but the reason for that is to find successful professionals who might share their ambition. In the corporate sector, people who work together, often find a common ground that evolves into relationships outside their professional zone. But to my knowledge, LinkedIn has not yet diversified its approach to content creation or enabling. So, there is a slight risk when people use the platform to find a match or relationships. Even in the case of mutual connections, it is important to keep the conversation professional and respectful.
