Getting Burnt Out By Social Media: You’re Not Alone and How To Deal With the Wear and Tear

There are literally millions of conversations happening every day, all day, all across the world. wide. web. If you have invested any time into social networking in the past few years; if you have established a Facebook profile, a Twitter account, and any number of other social tools, then you understand how this can very quickly become overwhelming.  It can happen to anyone.  Take it from me - my inspiration for writing this very post came directly from a familiar sense of social media overload.

Once you’re in the rhythm of checking updates, responding to at-replies, and sifting through Digg submissions, it’s easy to start to slip into a consistent game of catch up. Primarily because you can never stay on top of it all. There are simply too many words, statements, and discussions for any mere mortal to handle.

So what does one do to combat social media fatigue? A few suggestions:

• Understand that you are not alone. It may seem to you that friends, co-workers, and especially the “social media experts” are able stay on top of everything being said and developing in the social space.  Since they are, so should you be able to.  In truth, they’re not.  Even the most engaged and most wired can’t stay on top of it all.  If you can’t, it’s ok.
• Take a break. And know that it’s alright that you do.  The beauty of the social web is that everything is archived for you dig into later.  The news stories, the Twitter trending topics, the updates on your closest friends will all be there in a few days when you’re ready to log back on.
• Start prioritizing. The biggest challenge in staying on top of things is trying to keep tabs on everything. When you come back from a little time off, approach it fresh and new.  Really think of what’s most important.  Do you need to know what your friend Mike did last night? Maybe. Or maybe not. Perhaps it’s just the latest developments relevant to work and a quick catch-up the blogs covering your team’s run through the playoffs that you need to keep yourself informed going forward.
• Make the job a little easier. Sometimes some prep work now will save you a lot of time and effort later. Whether it’s a reorganization of your bookmarks, setting up RSS feeds for your favorite blogs in your email client, or clearing out Facebook friends and Pages from what’s allowed on your wall, there’s always a way to cut down the noise and cut out the steps involved in staying in touch.

Every day the amount of social activity online only increases. So recognizing and tackling social media burnout will only become more important for the future. Hopefully these thoughts will be of help.  Please share your own thoughts on other ways to keep the candle burning without always feeling like it’s on both ends.