During a painful week of work experience, an intern found herself attracted to a colleague but had no way to ask him out. She knew only his first name and had no social media details. Turning to LinkedIn, she messaged him for career advice, they met for coffee, and sparks flew. The professional networking platform became an unexpected dating tool.
The author argues that dating apps have become a 'binfire of no-hopers and try-hards', while LinkedIn offers a fuller picture of a person's career, education, interests, and even volunteer work. This reduces the risk of being catfished and ensures people look better in person than their corporate profile pictures. LinkedIn also reveals if someone is prone to over-the-top bragging or undesirable personality traits.
Her strategy: settle on a career type (corporate or creative), invite someone to connect, and ask for career advice over coffee. This removes the pressure of a formal date, and even without chemistry, you gain a business contact or useful guidance. Not everyone responds, but she believes the odds are no worse than on dating apps.
However, ethical questions remain. A decade ago, barrister Charlotte Proudman sparked a row when a senior male lawyer commented on her 'stunning' profile picture on LinkedIn. She deemed it inappropriate due to the power imbalance and called for an apology, saying it amounted to 'using LinkedIn essentially as Tinder'. The author acknowledges this logic but argues that Gen-Z is more willing to blur lines between business and pleasure, seeing opportunities for apps like LinkedIn to overlap with romance, just as Instagram and Hinge now host business opportunities.
Ultimately, the author sees it as desperation mixing with opportunism. Dating apps have caused romantic burnout, but she still has hope and is making it her business to give LinkedIn a go instead.
