The Mental Load of Social Media: Why It’s Draining You More Than You Think

Social media isn’t just a marketing task—it’s a constant mental burden. In this episode, Ruthie dives deep into the invisible load female founders and CEOs carry when trying to stay relevant, creative, and strategic online—while also managing families, teams, and businesses.

If social media leaves you feeling anxious, depleted, or like you’re never doing enough, you are not alone. Ruthie breaks down why this happens, how to name the pressure, and what you can do to manage it more intentionally—without guilt.

This episode is for the ambitious, high-achieving woman who’s tired of being everything to everyone. Let’s make peace with social media and take one more thing off your mental plate.

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@ruthie.sterrett
@theconsistencycorner

Transcript

Ruthie Sterrett (00:00)
Did you know the average person spends nearly two and a half hours a day on social media? And if you're a business owner, I guarantee you that number is way higher. Because we're not just consuming content like the average person, we're planning it, we're creating it, we're overthinking it, and we're definitely hoping it converts. All while managing a team, scaling a business, managing your family.

trying to squeeze in some self-care or just a shower now and then, and a hundred other decisions that we have to make every single day. No wonder we feel exhausted. Hey friends, I'm Ruthie, and I am the founder of The Consistency Corner, a social media marketing agency that specializes in serving brands who serve moms. And today we're talking about something that might feel really heavy every single day, but you have a hard time naming it.

And that is the mental load of social media. Because it's not just about posting to stay visible. It's an invisible layer of pressure that impacts your peace, your productivity, and your creativity as a business owner. It's an energy drain. And let's really break down what adds to that load. Well, the algorithm changes all the time. You think you learn something and then it changes.

You're supposed to be consistent, but you're also supposed to be authentic. And how do you even know what your audience wants to hear about? You're expected to reply, engage, comment, create daily. And the thing about these platforms, they're like really multiple platforms in one, if we're being honest. Instagram in and of itself, it's the feed posts, it's reels, it's stories, it's DMs. It's so much.

And it doesn't have clear edges because it's not like checking a task off of your to-do list. It's always there, lingering in your head, waiting to be done better, waiting to be fed. It is like the constant content machine. And it feels like a hamster wheel. As a founder or CEO, you already make hundreds of decisions a day. I mean, probably thousands. And social adds a whole new layer. What do I post? Should I share this moment?

How do we talk about this? Is it on brand? Will it perform? Does anyone care? And it's pressure that most people don't see. You feel it every time you pick up your phone, every time you look at the platform. Let me tell you what the mental load can look like for me some days. I'm juggling four different to-do lists. I'm knowing I'll never get to the bottom of any of them. I'm working all day and then realizing, crap, I didn't plan dinner.

than rushing to the grocery store or trying to scramble for something that's already in the kitchen and cooking while my family relaxes, doesn't have a care in the world. Then I remember, my gosh, I still need to shoot some B-roll for some reels. Wait, the trash bag needs to go out. Like, my gosh, I gotta do that really fast. Maybe somebody else will do this. Yeah, no, else is doing that. And then being the default parent and thinking about when do we have baseball?

Am I signed up for summer camp? What homework do we have? It's so much. On top of that, there's my own business in terms of communicating with my team, serving my clients, and all the other dozens of projects in my brain that needs to happen. And when it comes to the household stuff, like I'm not blaming my husband or my family here. They have their, my husband has his own pressures, but the invisible labor of the home, we know.

often falls on women. And we keep adding to it with, just got to do one more thing, like we often do in our business, right? It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. It just means that you are stretched thin and you've likely done it to yourself because you're a high achiever. Totally can relate. We think we can do it all, but we can't do everything all at once. And here's the hard truth.

We often reach for social media in the same way that we reach for junk food when we're hungry, when it comes to social media consumption. It can give us a quick dopamine hit, whether it's interacting with content that we love or posting and getting the views, the likes, the replies. But it often leaves us feeling emptier than it did before, just like if we have a gas station lunch or fast food versus a nutritious meal.

We often scroll for connection, but it's really not nourishing. It's like eating chips and salsa when your body really needs a salad. And the tricky part is as business owners, we do need to be present on social media because people are on social media. Our audience is on social media. Being there builds brand relevance. It does drive sales. It helps you stay connected with your audience and grow your community. So we really can't quit it altogether.

but we can choose to use it with more intention and less guilt. Because when social media becomes another pressure point on top of motherhood, leadership, your daily life, that's when we start to see cracks. Our ideas dry up, the creativity just goes away. Our confidence dips and the imposter syndrome creeps right in. We compare more, we rest less. We feel behind, even though we're likely working harder than ever.

And when that happens, we don't need to try harder. We don't need to scroll for more ideas. We don't need to throw our phone in the lake, which I don't know about you, I've thought about doing before. We need relief. We need support. We need strategy. And we need space. Because you were not meant to carry this mental load alone. So let's reframe things. You're not lazy if social media drains you. You're not unmotivated if you haven't posted in a while.

And you're not a failure if you need help showing up online. You're a high achieving woman who is doing a lot. And you deserve support, whether that means building a lighter strategy, outsourcing some content creation, or giving yourself permission to not be everything everywhere all the time. Whether that's by outsourcing some of your social media, putting up a nine grid so you can step away for a little bit, or...

outsourcing something else in your life that is draining you so you do have that creative energy to show up online. Social media should work for your business, not against your mental health. Listen, if this resonated with you, let's keep the conversation going. I would love to have you at our next social media mixer, which is our monthly networking event for founders of brands that market to moms where we connect, collaborate, talk about how to take social media off your to-do list.

and cheer each other on as we are all founders with missions to make the lives of moms better, easier, because let's face it, we all know moms are the ones who are gonna change the world. And if you're curious how we can help women like you take social media off their to-do list, download our service guide to see how we support CEOs building brands that serve moms just like yours. Thanks for being here and we'll see you in the next episode.