Constantly dealing with hate comments is very taxing to a creator’s mental health. The common advice is to just “ignore the hate”, but this is much easier said than done. On top of this, creators also risk burnout as they independently produce the many pieces of content necessary for them to make an income from brand deals. Even taking a break from social media comes with stress, because when a creator breaks for too long, they usually lose many of the followers that they worked so hard to gain.
With all of this being said, it’s very important that creators prioritize their mental health. In honour of Mental Health Week (May 2nd – 8th), here are 3 mental health tips for social media creators.
Create a Schedule
Creating a schedule and a structure is one of the best day-to-day Mental Health strategies for a creators. The idea here is that the creator should create strict work hours for themselves. Producing, posting, and engaging on social media should only be done within those work hours. Time outside of those work hours should be spent doing other things that the creator enjoys.
The creator can also decide on a “cut-off time”. This is a time each day where a creator should log-off of social media. This way, the creator can make sure that they have time at the end of each day for self-care.
Delete Hate Comments
Not all criticism in the comment section is “hate,” but every creators has the right to defend themselves if they are being personally attacked. Responding to a hater in the comments can end up being exhausting for even the strongest-minded influencer. Creator.co‘s suggestion to creators is to remove the hater’s negativity from their comment sections by deleting the hater comment entirely. Influencers should also not hesitate to block a hater who persistently leaves negative comments on multiple posts.
Create a Private Account
Most influencers are people who, at first, joined social media just for fun. They never could have been ready for the unexpected pressures of social media becoming their job. The best way for influencers to go back to the low-pressure fun that they used to have, is to create a 2nd account that can only be followed by family and close friends. This way, they can have an online outlet where they can safely be their true authentic selves, without the worries of how they’ll be perceived by the public.
In addition to these tips, we also suggest that influencers go to therapy if they can afford it. Psychology Today is an amazing resource for any influencer looking to find the right therapist to help them through life’s challenges.
Happy Mental Health Week! Remember that taking care of your mental health is the most important part of being the best creator that you can be!