Crafting the perfect Instagram post requires copious amounts of brainpower.
Your finger hesitates over the upload button for about 15 minutes, debating whether or not it's postable. You assess and re-assess until every slide has been expertly curated.
Finally, just when you think you've perfectly arranged your photos, you remember: "My boss follows me."
Drowning in embarrassment and shame, it's time to sanitize everything and start your feed over again.
Posting online has always been anxiety-inducing, but the expectations of the "real world" have begun to bleed into how Gen Z interacts with social media.
READ MORE: The pressures of perception: Is Gen Z too fixed on the word embarrassing?
The arbitrary standards of professionalism are infiltrating everyday life — and that's not a good thing.
While taking an innocent scroll, I have to think twice about engaging with content because seemingly harmless actions could have real effects on my future employment.
Suddenly face-to-face with the constant surveillance my parents warned me about, I'm overwhelmed. Not to mention my phone has turned into a reminder of my corporate future rather than an escape from it.
But Gen Z had to add a new twist to the social media debacle: Instead of just showing off flashy vacations and dreamy relationships, all of a sudden, Instagram is littered with the professional headshots of my peers.
It's a new world in which we pick and choose our career highlights to share, and everyone's participating.
According to a 2026 report by Expandi, LinkedIn's audience is getting younger. Over a third of its audience is made up of 25- to 34-year-olds, and Gen Z is its fastest-growing demographic.
As social media and the corporate world further intertwine, it's become increasingly normal to be an influencer alongside your career, handling your followers in the same breath as a conference meeting. Little did I know my college degree came with a small stipulation: a non-negotiable side hustle as a content creator.
Anjelina Belakovskaia, a professor in global finance at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, said she asks her students to Google themselves within their first few classes.
Belakovskaia said she tells her students that the results are what potential employers will see. She encourages her students to embrace this fact and use social media to their advantage.
While she joked about feeling as though people have to start building their brand in kindergarten, Belakovskaia does believe students have to begin as early as possible.
According to the Harvard Business School, personal branding is the act of marketing oneself to appear more valuable to potential employers.
Belakovskaia said she advises students to craft their profiles to represent who they actually are, showcasing their hobbies and interests — then to post in a way that is reflective of their goals.
"You start to build the bridge. How do you get from where you are into where you want to be?" Belakovskaia said. "Social media is going to be a step in the right direction where you hold yourself accountable to actually walk that path from point A to point B."
Too much emphasis is placed on curating a picture-perfect persona that's supposed to catapult you into success. I don't want my career to be defined by how good my LinkedIn is or how many followers I have on Instagram.
READ MORE: Perfectly imperfect: How authenticity is taking art over again
Belakovskaia said candidates use their resume to show off their technical skills, but social media is where the opportunity lies for highlighting personality and interests.
Somehow, this advice only made me feel less sure about my own personal brand. How am I supposed to portray myself as a professional, but still a beautiful young woman brimming with personality — but not too much personality?
The more time one spends stressing about their public image, the less rooted in reality the entire persona becomes. There's a thin line to toe between "branding" and creating an inauthentic version of yourself that's superficial at best and inaccurate at worst.
Social media wasn't meant to be an extension of our work lives. I don't want to buy into this shallow stab at marketing. I just want to be a college student.
Next time I'm curating a post, I'm just pressing the upload button without a second thought. I'm leaving the work thoughts for work and enjoying my screen time without guilt.
Editor's note: The opinions presented in this column are the author's and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Edited by Sam Troester, Carsten Oyer, Senna James and Kate Gore.
Reach the reporter at ajanusee@asu.edu and follow @lexijanusee on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Lexi Janusee is a senior reporter at The State Press. She is a sophomore studying Journalism with a minor in Theatre. This is her third semester with The State Press, working previously as a full-time Echo reporter.
