Have you experienced social media burnout? Not everyone has, but many users have in recent years. There are only so many hours in a day. It is easy to get caught up in posting, responding and reading comments.
Learn the symptoms of social media burnout before you come down with a bad case of it or before it incapacitates you from working.
It’s easy to stay on social media for many of those hours, day after day.
Table of Contents
Content Matters
However, this also means the quality of the content you create for social as well as what you share as you engage with your audience. It’s a lot of time that is spent creating the content as well as time engaging on each of the networks for you or your business.
If you begin to get burnt out managing social media you may become lazy and your work will suffer.
I’ve asked other bloggers if they ever suffered from it and how they overcame it. You may find their answers quite interesting and helpful.
What Is Social Media Burnout?
Burnout Definition: “The physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.” It’s the feeling of being exhausted from the overuse of social media.
Too much of anything can cause us to burn out. If that happens you may need a social media detox.
Social Media Burnout Symptoms
Symptoms of social media burnout include feelings of anxiety, depression, and irritability, as well as physical symptoms such as headaches and fatigue. Individuals may experience a decrease in productivity and a lack of interest in activities they once enjoyed.
Insomnia and difficulty concentrating are also common indicators of social media burnout.
Additionally, individuals may feel a sense of isolation and a decline in their overall mental well-being.
Some Just Plan Quit
Did you read the article about the 18-year-old blogger girl who just quit social media? She had over 500,000 followers on Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr. The girl realized she started to feel miserable watching the numbers on her screen daily.
She was checking her numbers obsessively and felt much better after she quit. She talks about being obsessive on social media which made her feel worse about herself.
Now, you may be able to relate to her if you are on social media much of the time.
She was able to overcome social media burnout but not everyone in the business can quit their social media accounts. But BALANCE is the key here.
Tips to Overcome
So I asked several people how they overcome social media burnout. Some bloggers actually have not experienced it. One common thing to note:
That tip seemed to resonate with most users. Even those that did not suffer from social media burnout would take weekends off. It seems to be the most common tip among social media users.
Check out these great tips below from other bloggers. Learn how they overcame social media burnout or have avoided it altogether.
Shut Down On The Weekends
This tip comes from Mitch Mitchell of I’m Just Sharing. He says it happens to him every once in a while and he will shut down for the entire weekend. He also has stepped away for a week at a time to recharge.
Ian Cleary from the Razor Social Blog claims he never suffers from social media burnout. He always enjoys connecting with others on social media.
Ellen M Gregg from her blog claims she did get social media burnout from Facebook and Twitter. She felt overwhelming with all the noise on the networks. However, she was able to stay off Facebook for over a month. She also went on to say it gave her a breath of fresh air as she draw back.
Lastly, Ellen also mentioned that she too shuts down on the weekends as it is her time away.
Enstine Muki from his making money blog says he does not get burned out using social media for his business. He has reduced the time online on the weekends to spend time with his children.
Kevin J. Juncan from Be A Better Blogger says even though he felt like throwing in the towel whenever someone he know retweets one of the Kardashians, he’s yet to experience social media burnout. His secret? He take tiny bites.
However, he may be on Twitter and Facebook seven days a week, but he is never on them for more than ten minutes at a time. In short, he paces himself.
Additional Tips to Overcome Social Media Burnout
To overcome social media burnout, set specific time limits for usage each day. Therefore, prioritize meaningful interactions over passive scrolling. Then curate your feed to follow accounts that inspire and uplift you.
Of course, take regular breaks from social media, engage in offline activities that bring you joy and fulfillment, and consider seeking support from friends, family, or a mental health professional if needed.
Now if you are a social media manager or manage your own social networks, I do recommend using tools to manage the postings and replies to keep you off of the channels.
Have You Suffered From Social Media Burnout?
Were you able to overcome social media burnout or do you still suffer from it at times? Do you go on social media 7 days a week or do you also take the weekends off?
I’d love to know more in the comments below on how you deal with social media burnout.
I too have suffered from this after being on for over a decade. Now, I take time away from my smartphone and lower notification sounds in the evening to avoid the social media burnout I’ve suffered in the past.
Today I can understand why many social media managers do not do social media for themselves or their company as they are overwhelmed with managing it for their clients.
