How to Avoid Social Media Burnout
Tired woman leaning on a cup of coffee in front of a laptop and monitor.
Between work and downtime, people are feeling the effects of social media burnout.
For those who work from home, have a hybrid system, or jump on video calls from the office, sometimes it all gets to be a bit much. Then, after work, we log onto our phones, hoping for some relaxation and respite.
Do these long days of staring at screens feel like they’re getting to you? You’re not alone. Let’s talk about the research behind this and how you can avoid social media burnout.
What is Zoom Fatigue?
Back in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when baking sourdough bread was trendy and toilet paper was still scarce, people were happily logging onto Zoom, Teams, etc., to connect with loved ones and chat with colleagues. However, after several months of restrictions, people started logging on a little less happily. Maybe even begrudgingly.
With all the video calls happening at work and at home, people began to feel like they constantly needed to be “on.” Enter Zoom fatigue: a term coined to describe that feeling of, “Do I really need to turn on my video for this meeting?”
Even though many have gone back to work f
ollowing the pandemic, there has been a huge increase in remote work since 2020. This means Zoom fatigue is still alive and well.
What is Social Media Burnout?
While Zoom fatigue has been weighing us down at work, its lesser-known cousin, social media fatigue (AKA social media burnout) has been wearing us down after we clock out.
Some studies have found that social media fatigue is associated with depression and anxiety. Researchers Jianling Ma and Chang Liu set out to learn more about this issue, specifically looking at which factors cause people to experience social media fatigue.
What did they find? Social media addiction, envy, and anxiety were all significant predictors of social media fatigue.
Indications of Social Media Burnout
Reduced interest in logging on
Eagerness to escape social media platforms
Unproductivity
Irritability
Researchers believe people develop social media burnout when they are overwhelmed by information or communication. After all, our brains were never built to take in this much information or be available at all times. However, researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes some people to experience this and not others.
Liu and Ma hypothesized that social media burnout may be linked to social media addiction, envy, and anxiety. To test their hypothesis, the researchers had 519 university students complete questionnaires that measured these factors.
The Relationship Between Social Media and Burnout
Based on the study’s findings, the researchers found that social media addiction did contribute to social media burnout. Furthermore, they realized that the severity of the burnout symptoms increased in proportion to the severity of the addiction (the greater the addiction, the more intense the burnout).
It makes sense: Spending more time on social media increases your chances of being exposed to too much information.
The research findings suggest that social media addiction causes envy
and anxiety, leading to social media burnout.
As you might have guessed, none of this is good for your health. Previous research has found that excessive social media use can lead to poor sleep quality, lower happiness, and worse academic performance. What’s more, both excessive social media use and burnout have been linked to anxiety and depression.
How Can I Fight Social Media Burnout?
Reduce your social media use.
Avoid passive social media use. Send a message, share a photo, call a friend, or join a group.
Tackle your anxiety. If anxiety is becoming a problem in your life, speak with a healthcare professional to learn more about your options.
Woman walking outside with coffee in hand.
The choices you make every day in using social media add up. By cutting back on your screen time, using social media in an active way when you’re online, and tackling your anxiety, you'll be less likely to experience social media burnout and all the baggage that comes along with it.
*It's worth noting that the current study didn't follow people over time. Also, Liu and Ma only recruited university students for their study and the questionnaire they filled out was entirely self-reported. This means that the results might not apply to other demographics and that more research is needed before drawing conclusions about the relationship between social media addiction and burnout.
Study Objective & Methods
Social media addiction and burnout: The mediating roles of envy and social media use anxiety
Chang Liu, PhD; Jianling Ma, PhD
Published in Current Psychology, 2020.
Through this study, Liu and Ma aimed to gain a better understanding of why people experience social media burnout. They proposed that social media addiction, envy, and anxiety may play a role. To test their hypothesis, the researchers had 519 university students fill out a questionnaire that assessed social media envy, addiction, anxiety, and burnout.
Social Media and Well-Being Training
This research (and all our social media and well-being articles) have laid the foundation for our 3-course program designed for anyone wanting to approach social media and communications in a way that protects well-being and puts people first. Learn more here.
