Why is social media exhausting?

I have found social media absolutely exhausting over the past year, yet I’ve wasted hours, if not days, mindlessly scrolling through social media. It’s dulled my brain and dulled my senses. I’m struggling to concentrate on anything else: a good book, winding down before bed or waking up in the morning. Time is just… wasted. Instead of being de-influenced, I’m just influenced. And at the same time, I’ve realised that those who actively post on social media are effectively doing a whole new job on top of their day jobs. 

It’s time consuming to create content and be “NEW NEW NEW” all day long. It reminds me of a newsroom, but there are multiple people running that machine: journalists, editors, designers, photographers, printers… the list goes on. Yet, to have a prolific social media presence, you need to be all of the above and more: a jack of all trades. How are you supposed to excel at any one thing if you’re trying to keep all the plates spinning in the air?  There is a pressure to be “on” all the time, and with that I’ve been in a freeze state with my mind running at lightning speed.

Everyone asks me if I “do social media”. The answer has always been: It’s not my favourite, but I’ll do it for some clients. And the minute those words come out of my mouth, I regret them. It’s not my forte, it moves way too quickly, and it’s a lot of effort for not too much reward by way of engagement. I don’t have the patience to spend hours working on community and engagement for a client - or even for my own business. 

And the algorithm changes weekly, anyway. Who has the energy to keep up? For 2025, I want to be mindful of what I offer my clients, and do the work that really truly brings me joy. Things like this: long form content that I can spend a bit more time on, editing it, working on SEO, keyword research. Put serious thought into email marketing automations and campaigns for small businesses: help them to create interesting new lead magnets and deeper engagements with their audience. 

I’m not even creating content for my personal account: there are no travel posts, and nothing new on my main grid. Facebook is for sending birthday greetings, and LinkedIn is… well, I’m still trying to get the hang of it. I’m simply over all of it. I can’t ignore social media completely: I still need to (mostly) be aware of the trends, but to participate is tiresome. 

So, how do I move forward? I attempt to be intentional with my social media usage, both as a consumer and as a creator for my own business. No, I won’t be offering this to clients in the future: I’d rather direct them to other businesses who are able to execute their vision well. It’s also hard to convince clients that maybe social media isn’t the route for them. If there are limited sexy visuals in what they offer, then they need to be looking at long form content and email marketing anyway. 

And that’s what I will focus on marketing and selling in 2025.