I’ve been thinking a lot about the constant bombardment of information in today’s social media world. When will it be too much? There’s no end in sight for the amount of information one can accrue. Jay Baer interviewed Brian Solis to reveal an unsurprising trend in social media: social media fatigue.
Jay: Yeah. Iâm glad you mentioned changing who you connect with in different outposts. As you know, thereâs been somewhat of a micro trend recently of people just sort of saying, âYou know what? Iâm throwing up my hands. Iâm going to, especially on Twitter, unfollow everybody and then start from ground zero.â I know Chris Brogan has done it and other people have done it. What do you make of that? Is that a sign of the times? Is that a sign that we did it wrong the first time? To me, that is a symptom of a bigger issue.
Brian: Iâve studied this actually, the idea of social network fatigue. And thereâs parts of this in the book where we talk about the effects that this is having on society. I use examples of students who are feeling like, even though theyâve wired themselves for this, they canât keep up with what it is that theyâve created. Thereâs this sense that not only are they always on, but thereâs this psychological need to be always on. Otherwise they feel like theyâre missing out, theyâre disconnected, their relationships are going away from them. So part of this is self-created. But also, itâs perpetuated through the âsocial media expertsâ.
I find myself in a constant battle over the amount of time allotted to social media. I’m much more productive when I tune out the social distractions. But as a result, I miss out on baby announcements, birthdays, etc. In a sense, my “real life” becomes negatively impacted when I tune out my social presence. I take regular social media sabbaticals but it’s sometimes not enough to clear away all of the virtual clutter.
I'm the Founder and Creative Director of Jessica Ann Media, where I help you to reach your target audience through clear writing and results-driven content marketing. I've pioneered new content initiatives at top brands like Sirius XM Radio, Adobe, Bitcoin and Getty Images. My book, Humanize Your Brand: How to Create Content that Connects with Your Customers, was ranked as one of the top Business books in Marketing. My podcast, the Art of Humanity, is where I interview artists, leaders, authors and entrepreneurs about creativity and consciousness.