It’s the season of comebacks. Latest in the list is Congress MP Shashi Tharoor who made a comeback on LinkedIn after about five years. In his post, the four-time MP chose to shed light on the evolution of networking. Tharoor mused about how professional connections have shifted from traditional “long coffee meetings to a LinkedIn DM in your inbox”.
“A colleague recently shared that their latest hire came from a simple Gen-Z DM just asking for coffee! It got me thinking: the way we connect isn’t what it used to be,” the MP wrote.
The politician and former UN diplomat reminisced about his days of firm handshakes, long conferences and impromptu coffee chats. “Today, those moments have turned into comments, connections, and quick DMs,” Tharoor posted.
“Having just turned 69, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that adapting is key—whether in life, work, or networking,” he further wrote. The Congress MP went on to then urge other users to connect with him. “So here I am, just a Parliamentarian posting on LinkedIn, asking you all to connect as I share my journey…” Tharoor said in the post.
The post resonated widely, starting a conversation in the comments section on how professional networking has transformed in the digital age. Several users chimed in. One commented, “Very Rightly brought out sir. I feel today’s Mantra is ‘Networking is your Networth’.” Another user wrote, “Once, relationships were built over long conversations and shared moments. Now, they begin with a notification and a blue “Connect” button. We call it efficiency, but perhaps it’s just the illusion of connection—proximity without presence, access without depth.”
