How to Combat Social Media Fatigue and Make it Work for You

Is it important for us to be constantly sharing our work?I have been wondering about this for a while now. I remember the start of all this photo sharing. It seems so long ago. It was Flickr, with its featured posts, communities, groups, and the excitement of putting photos online to get them seen. We needed to get validation, and a bunch of likes on Flickr was just that.

Then we started commenting, and the comments turned photo sharing into a live-action contact sport. Trolls, know-it-alls, tribes of nearly human wannabees… and the experience went from fun to “Oh look, there’s this new app called Instagram…”

Bye-bye Flickr. (I should point out that Flickr still exists, and it is far better than when I was on it decades ago.)

Instagram was a blast at first. Sharing images, meals, parking structures, caution tape, signs, actually any bloody thing that could be seen soon filled the IG feed. Sure you can curate it, but that takes time, effort, and a desire to be bothered.

Where it was once fun to open Instagram while standing in line at the supermarket or waiting at the car wash, it became… oh damnit, I gotta ‘engage’ on Instagram so I can keep the algorithm alive.

The Algorithm

Facebook was fun too, before you found out that everyone you knew was an epidemiologist, highly knowledgeable nutritionist, or fist-amendment scholar disguised as some dude you went to school with and now runs a dry-cleaner.

Twitter (X) became a shooting match before it became the CIA’s pet project. X – to me – seems like standing in an acoustically deficient auditorium filled with people shouting about how smart they are through 200-decibel megaphones. (Available at Temu.)

Now we are being asked to go to Bluesky, Foto, Snapchat, Cluster, BeREal, Lemon*… sigh. Too many, far too many.

Look, I hate monopolies as much as the next free-market capitalist, but having so many places screaming for attention reminds me that my attention is all I have to myself. And they want all of it.

So I got to thinking and researching. One of the things that has started to bug me a bit is why I should even share photos online at outlets that use my little snaps to lure other people in to see them; oh – and while you’re here, buy this cool new BBQ sauce dispenser that looks like a piglet, or some handy Valentine-themed hot pads.

What am I supposed to get out of it? Likes? Hearts? AI-generated “awesome image, dude” from people too lazy to type it? Validation?

Let’s talk about that. First of all, I am not seeking validation, nor am I interested in providing it. Y’all can feel pretty safe knowing that IDGAF what y’all do with your work. If it is something that makes you happy, rock on and bring those hip vibes, dudes and dudettes.

I never want to be the arbiter of taste in music or art. (Tacos are another subject. I have strict rules for the tacos, although I admit they change occasionally when another type of taco is presented. Taco rules are made to be broken like a crisp corn tortilla with too much Carne on it.)

Chasing the dopamine, longing to be seen and approved of, and the fear of ‘losing followers’ have for far too long been the dominant forces driving the 14 billion images being shared per day.

14,000,000,000.

Fourteen Billion Images Per Day.
(Google Labs 1/17/2025)

And we wonder why engagement is down. Because it is. And we wonder why we seem exhausted trying to keep up. Because we are.

Instagram, a major player in photo sharing, has seen a slow decline in overall interaction:

• In 2023, carousels averaged a 0.55% engagement rate, indicating a downward trend
• The median engagement rate on Instagram across all industries is 0.43%
• For business accounts with less than 10,000 followers, the average engagement rate is 0.98%

Facebook, another significant platform for photo sharing, is also experiencing low engagement:

• Most Facebook pages see an average engagement rate of just 0.07%
• Image posts on Facebook perform slightly better at 0.12% engagement, while link posts generate only 0.03% engagement

(Info provided by Perplexity)

This is profoundly low engagement despite all the fancy, “you are a content creator, creating content for content consumers who crave content that is like the content you make, you content-creating content creator.”

Usually followed by an ad for some sort of content-creation tool that will make nine hundred million pieces of content in .3 nanoseconds by only typing one word. Cause… content!

Social Media Fatigue

This has been dubbed, Late Stage Social Media. Social Media Fatigue is separate from ZOOM Fatigue and also separate but not that dissimilar from Information Fatigue.

Zoom Fatigue: Well, we all know what that’s about. It needs no explanation, but if you want to jump on a Zoom call, we can discuss it.

Information Fatigue: We are blasted by information at every level of consciousness. From news to the web to everything we listen to. (I am hoping for a little Wyoming Mountain Fatigue Detox this summer. No nothin’ but the quiet of the sparsely settled outback.)

Social Media Fatigue: Getting tired of the same ol’ same ol’ and expecting something different to capture your overwrought, tired, and clinically frazzled attention.

The kind that demands too much for far too little return. Everywhere we look, someone wants us to share here, or share there, or join some other platform to share and be shared. Maybe we need to look at it from a few positions. We have to look at our time and realize there just isn’t that much to spare.

So here is how to (hopefully) get around the late-stage social media burnout fatigue syndrome… or whatever you want to call it.

No More “Perfect” Posts
Those days are fading. Users are skimming past over-polished material. It’s a given that technical brilliance is important for client work, we might profit from displaying more behind-the-scenes content on social media. Share your feelings about the shoot, some variations of it, and be raw and unfiltered.

The Rise of “Real” Content
The need for authenticity is changing how we share work. Think of it as widening your storytelling into a narrative about you and your subjects. Find ways to be even more transparent, giving potential clients a glimpse into the inner-sanctum of your creativity.

Short-Form Video Dominance
Do video in 2025 if you haven’t as yet done so. This requires us to change up our portfolios. Create 30-second behind-the-scenes videos, share an editing technique, and point out the various ways the work you do can help a client sell more Valentine-themed pot holders.

AI Integration—Friend or Foe?
With AI creating nearly half of social media content, photographers confront a new problem – and find an opportunity. AI can help with social media management (scheduling posts and creating intriguing captions), but it’s your artistic vision and expertise that truly stand out. Use AI for ordinary chores while emphasizing your work’s human creativity with your output.

The Social Commerce Evolution
Social platforms are becoming shopping destinations, with 2025 sales exceeding $600 billion. You can now sell prints, courses, and even book shoots on social media. Create a gallery for your print and book sales, and expand your income channels.

Focus on building genuine relationships with your audience while trying out new formats and features. Your unique perspective and expertise are your biggest assets in an increasingly AI-driven and commercialized social media landscape.

Start small: choose one of these trends to experiment with this week.

Whatever you decide, just know that 2025 is different than 2024 and a couple of years before it. There is a feeling of change everywhere.

I get:
Five AI-focused newsletters per day. All filled with new stuff.
Five photo-directed newsletters per day: All filled with new stuff on advertising, design, and photography.
30 newsletters per week discussing how business is being done, and will be done in the future.

That is only what I get – there are far more winds of change a blowin’ out there. Occasionally, my friend, the answers are indeed blowing in the wind.

I am going to be quite transparent here. I don’t share a lot of my work online. Most everything I do on IG, FB, et-al, are snaps – iPhone shots taken as I wander my allotted sections of the earth.

I am in no way suggesting you or anyone else adopt my selfish, self-centered, screw-y’all habits, just letting you know.

Forthright honesty is a feature I like in others, so I try to keep it myself.

Do you have any plans to deal with these new changes? If so, let us know in the comments.

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