Does Social Media Cause Imposter Syndrome?

Many hard-working professionals enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after a job well done and bask in the warm glow of well-deserved accolades. That is, until they check their LinkedIn page to see how their success matches up to that of their peers.

For many competitive high achievers, however, once they log on, objectivity flies out the window and they feel inferior reading about how much more their peers and competitors seem to have accomplished by comparison. Whether true or not, believing one’s own accomplishments pale in comparison to others throws a wet blanket on professional pride. So, why do we look?

Assuming for the sake of argument that everyone else’s showcased accolades are true, there may be limited value in keeping pace with peer productivity. Research explains.

Source: Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay

Imposters in the Workplace

Ben Marder et al. (2024) in an report aptly entitled “Does LinkedIn Cause Imposter Syndrome?” examined how professional social media usage contributes to feeling inferior.[i] They define imposter syndrome as “feeling phony or fraudulent in the workplace,” something that research reveals impacts as many as three in five workers, with one study estimating the number of affected employees as high as 82% (citing Bravata et al., 2020).

Are contemporary employees more at risk for feelings of inferiority than generations past? Quite possibly, given the ease with which we can compare ourselves to others with a swipe on our phones or a click on an app.

The truth is, that many people rely on social network sites for validation, coming back hours and even days later to check on how many likes, thumbs up, or shares a post has earned. When sharing success on professionally geared sites such as LinkedIn, the poster is particularly interested not only in how many, but which professional colleagues have weighed in. But is such interest healthy?

Imposter Identity Online

Marder et al. investigated the intersection of imposter syndrome with professional social network site (SNS) usage. Reinforced by objective self‐focused attention theory, they found that spending time on professional SNSs elevates professional self‐focused attention, which triggers imposter thoughts, resulting in negative emotions. They note that imposter thoughts may include believing others think they are more competent than they think they are, an internal discrepancy that triggers negative emotion.

Marder et al. found that such effects are reduced for people with elevated levels of narcissism. But because most people are not narcissistic, the research results can be taken seriously, not that people need empirical corroboration for what most experience as a practical phenomenon.

Sites like LinkedIn are not the only SNSs that have the potential to make high achievers feel sub-par. Depending on the industry, many professionals showcase their accomplishments on sites like Instagram and Facebook, among many others. From public speakers to photographers, sites that specialize in showcasing visual imagery will always have something more spectacular than what a poster shares, or at least that might be the way they feel—every time they log on.

The Discipline of Digital Disengagement

Society’s contemporary focus on emotional health and wellness would suggest that time spent on LinkedIn and similar sites beyond professional networking is not healthy when it leads to feeling that our best is never good enough.

True, not everyone experiences imposter syndrome, but for those who do, a change in mindset might be in order. Cultivating and maintaining a supportive offline social group both personally and professionally is far more edifying and encouraging than comparing oneself to professional peers, who always seem to accomplish more.

Family, friends, faith, and authentic in-person professional relationships provide a strong foundation of unconditional support that serves as an objective fact-check on the endless digital race to the top. Sometimes the healthiest decision at the end of the workday is to log off.