A lot of us start creating as an escape. We start creating social media content because it’s fun and gives us an outlet. Even viewers seek out social media as a way to relax! But eventually, it becomes overwhelming and exhausting for all of us. In today’s article, we’ll be covering social media fatigue and how to avoid burnout.
What is Social Media Fatigue? 😵
Social media fatigue refers to the exhaustion, overwhelm, burnout, or anxiety caused by prolonged or excessive social media use. It can affect both content creators and social media viewers. That doesn’t mean a post makes you angry or sad and you’re suddenly in burnout. If you find yourself consistently feeling negative during or after a social media scroll, that’s burnout.
Which can look different for everyone! Burnout can also look like “doom scrolling” or feeling like you can’t look away from your social media. Conversely, everything on your social media is negative and fear-inducing, but you feel like you just can’t look away. Maybe you find yourself constantly comparing yourself to others. All of this can lead to social media burnout and is what we’ll be attacking to get rid of it!
How to Avoid Burnout 🔥
Everyone struggles with how to avoid burnout at some point in their life. Usually, it’s something that already causes stress (work, family responsibility, etc) but it’s not exclusive to them. Most people have felt social media burnout or fatigue at least once, whether or not they know it. So let’s get into how to avoid burnout!
1. Take a Break 📵
One of the best ways to beat burnout is to take regular breaks. The old adage is that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the same can be said for social media. If you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed, log off for a while. Focus your energy and time on the things you love and take a moment to detox from social media. You’ll appreciate the break and feel more inspired when you come back.
And your followers? They’ll miss you, but they want you to feel better and care for yourself. Just let them know you’re stepping away for a bit, and they’ll be there when you return.
2. Set Boundaries 🙅
Once you’re ready to come back – or can feel burnout developing – reevaluate your relationship with social media and set some boundaries for yourself. Maybe you’ll only get on social media for an hour and a half a day, or you’ll only spend thirty minutes a day creating content. Some creators have “office hours”, where they scroll, comment, respond, and focus on social media just for that time. Figure out what you need to feel recharged and introduce it into your routine.
3. Practice Self-Care ❤️🩹
Developing a consistent self-care practice outside of social media is one of the best ways to combat burnout. This can include regular exercise, time spent with family or loved ones, getting plenty of sleep, and/or eating healthily, among other things.
- Find what makes you feel good, energized, or balanced.
- Work them into your schedule. Daily is great, but even weekly can help a lot.
- Set goals to help you implement them. An example is meditating four times a week.
- Consider how this routine makes you feel. Less stressed? More stressed?
- Adjust your routine depending on what you need. Maybe it’s not working, or you just want to focus on one area.
Self-care will also help you set boundaries and more easily disconnect from social media. You’ll be able to feel when you’re off balance and when you need a break. And, best of all, you’ll know where to start when it comes to shaking off the funk.
4. Get Support 🤗
To avoid social media burnout, sometimes all you need to do is unplug and spend some time with your support system. This is a group of people that you can turn to when you need support or help. Chances are, you probably already have one! Friends and family tend to be our primary support networks, but a lot of us have online friend groups we can turn to. This community can help you power through, offer advice when you’re stuck, or just give you a shoulder to lean on. Even a game night or quick drink can shake off the funk!
We recommend having a support system you can connect with without social media – or without using the social platform burning you out. That way you can completely unplug when you need to.
5. Optimize Your Process 👓
Sometimes you implement self-care, build a support system, and take breaks when necessary, but you still feel burnout lingering. In that case, you’ve got to shift your perspective and examine your process. If there’s part of your process that continually frustrates or exhausts you, find ways to delegate, mitigate, or just get rid of it. Scripting can be done by AI, you don’t have to respond to every DM, and you don’t have to constantly follow or keep up with trends.
This requires a little thought or self-examination, which takes time and isn’t always the most fun. But the hard work is worth it! Try writing down all the things that frustrate you about social media, then come back in an hour (or a day) and start jotting down potential solutions. You may have to do research to help with this last part – or you may find there’s no solution and you have to tough it out. That’s fine; you’ll still have solutions to the others! Implement them and see if you notice your exhaustion or frustration getting better.
Additional Resources 🫶
How to Avoid or Combat Burnout
Most articles you look for on burnout will relate more to work, but they’re still applicable! You might be feeling a lot of the same symptoms, and the tactics they employ will help. This article from Harvard Business Review covers burnout at work, but this Forbes write-up actually tackles social media burnout. There’s also this longer article on Medium, covering the causes and symptoms of burnout – and gives you steps to overcome it. Our scientifically-minded readers will love this report examining social media fatigue.
Building a Self-Care Routine
You can find a ton of articles or videos on self-care no matter where you search! This quick write-up from the National Institute of Mental Health is a great intro and provides some examples of what to try. If you want some additional self-care tips, we recommend this article on practicing self-care or this one on building a self-care routine.