Burnout is real. Whether social media is your job or your hobby, you can get burnout. But when you research how to avoid social media burnout, the top results are about general burnout. Not burnout for content creators. In fact, if you’ve talked about burnout as a content creator, you might have had someone laugh at you. It doesn’t seem possible! Isn’t content creation fun and easy?
Not always. Avoiding social media burnout is hard. In this article, we’re tackling social media burnout as a creator and how you can avoid it.
What is Burnout? 🤔
According to psychologytoday.com, Burnout is “a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.” Burnout is more often associated with work, but it can also be caused by other responsibilities.
Burnout isn’t just caused by working long hours or taking on too many tasks. It is also caused by working on a project or job you don’t have any real control over, working on something that doesn’t feel important, or not receiving support.
While creating content might seem like a fun, silly hobby or career from an outside perspective, burnout amongst content creators happens so easily. For a lot of creators, they get stuck in a cycle of creating content they don’t love. Or they get tired and don’t allow themselves to take breaks. Some even overwhelm themselves with a crazy posting schedule.
What Does Burnout Look Like? 🔥
If you’ve never experienced burnout, it can be hard to pinpoint what it looks or feels like. There are a few hallmarks.
Exhaustion 🧯
This is one that, sadly, doesn’t need explanation. We’ve all felt mentally, emotionally, or physically exhausted. You don’t have the energy to do anything, let alone turn on the camera and record content for your followers.
Cynicism 🧯
To boil down the (several) definitions of cynicism, it means to be skeptical of others’ emotions and motives. A cynic finds fault with things around them. A pessimist and “negative Nancy” is a fair comparison.
Anger 🧯
Anger doesn’t apply only to what’s causing the burnout, but to everything. If you find that you’re snapping at family and friends more often, have a shorter temper, and just feel angry, it might be burnout.
Dread 🧯
This sounds a little dark, but stick with us. One of the main ways that people know they’ve hit burnout is that they start dreading whatever’s causing the burnout. For creators, you’ll find ways to avoid social media, maybe altogether. Or, if you do sit down to create, it feels like someone’s pulling teeth.
Essentially, you hit a wall. You stop caring, stop wanting to work, and even your passions don’t excite you. You quite literally lose your spark, hence the term “burnout”.
But burnout isn’t an end-all-be-all. You can bounce back from it and even prevent it! Here are five ways to avoid social media burnout.
Follow Your Passions ❤️🔥
This isn’t a fail-proof method, but you’d be surprised how much it can help. By focusing on content and videos you’re passionate about, you’ll feel more inspired and motivated. This won’t defeat burnout altogether, but it will make burning out a little harder.
Log Off 📴
It can be easy to get sucked into social media. Spend some time logged off every day. Literally silence notifications, put down your phone, and engage IRL. Spend time with your friends, make dinner with your family, or even go on a walk. Even little breaks can help you recharge.
Have Easy Video Ideas 💭
Taking it easy or logging off sounds easy, but if you’re trying to grow and build a community, it can be hard! You don’t want to break your streak or lose the chance to connect with your followers.
In this case, we recommend having a few video ideas on deck. These can be three simple, easy videos or slideshows you can create to engage with your followers. They can be super simple, like:
- B-roll over a trending audio.
- A slideshow of recent favorites.
- Motivational quote over a fun audio.
Having a list of super-easy videos to make helps you take it easy when the well starts to run dry.
Take Breaks 🥱
This is different from logging off. Taking a break means that you’re actually putting social media down and doing something else instead. Turn off the app’s notifications for a day or even a week and don’t get on it. Reconnect with your family or even go on a vacation. Just don’t worry about social media for a few days.
Get Support 🤗
Whether you befriend another creator or turn to a friend, get some emotional support. Have someone you can vent to when you start to feel drained. Sometimes, just having someone to lean on can help a lot. They can help you find solutions to problems, or can just listen as you get your stressors off your chest.
If you’re feeling burnt out, you’re not alone. Check out this article from The Guardian, covering creators currently dealing with social media burnout. Even a quick “how to avoid burnout as a content creator” on your favorite platform will pull up tons of creators sharing their tips and struggles.
Don’t be afraid to unplug and come back refreshed. You (and your audience) will be thankful for it.
The Clapper app is a short-form video and Livestream app for creators 17+. Our goal is to give creators a platform to build communities and express themselves freely without judgment and censorship. To learn more, download the app, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.