Social Media and Stress: It’s Okay to Unplug

We hear increasingly how excessive social media use creates stress and harms our mental health. Not only this, but some experts are even saying that it's as bad for our bodies as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. 

Revision: Here is the updated link to Regis College and their information on supporting this claim since Forbes does not have appropriate line of research cited.

But as entrepreneur teachers, we need social media to market and grow our businesses. So, what do we do? How can we minimize the stress of social media while also tending to our businesses?

We can unplug. 

Unplugging has several benefits. It allows us to free up essential time and energy and cultivate a better work/life balance. We're also able to rest and reset, which helps us restore our nervous systems and get out of chronic stress responses that harm our performance and overall well-being.

In this article, I'm lasering in on all things "unplugging" and discussing: 

• Learning to see unplugging as a proactive stress management technique
• The relationship between social media and stress
• 5 benefits of unplugging for teacherpreneurs
• Ways to manage stress by creating healthier boundaries around social media
• A free stress relief kit for teacher CEOs + how to get more monthly resources, support, and workshops in the Teacher Business Balance membership. 

Unplugging As Proactive Stress Management

If you're like most people, you may think of unplugging as something you do every now and then (if you can stand it!) after a 5-hour Instagram or TikTok binge. This is a band-aid approach to excessive social media use. However, unplugging has a lot more to offer. When used more consistently, It can be a proactive stress management technique like using affirmations or body checks. 

Unplugging helps you manage two kinds of stress. First, it helps relieve stress that's unrelated to social media. For example, unplugging frees up time to journal about a stressor in your personal life that may be affecting your business. Second, unplugging reduces stress that's directly caused by social media. 

These two types of stress are closely related, and a technique like unplugging addresses both.  

We will talk more about how to manage social media marketing and active unplugging later on in the article. First we need to talk about how social media is contributing to stress.

Social Media and Stress

The relationship between stress and social media is complex. While social media is usually necessary to run a teacher business, being on it too much is likely to increase stress and negatively impact your mental health. The link between stress and social media is widely documented, and several factors contribute to it. 

For teacherpreneurs, 3 of the most significant factors contributing to social media stress are unhelpful comparison, information overload, and time management issues. Let's go into more detail about these three things.

Unhelpful Comparison - Social media tempts you to compare your business to that of others, which can lead to feelings of envy, low self-esteem, and stress. 

Information Overload - A constant stream of information, updates, and notifications can be overwhelming, leading to cognitive overload and stress. This doubles when you're building an online business! Not only are you keeping up with your social life, but you have to market on social media and maintain active social media pages for your business.

Time Management Issues - Being a teacherpreneur can double or triple our time on social media. Social media algorithms also encourage excessive use, especially doom-scrolling, which is designed to be hard to resist. All this social media pressure affects work-life balance because it consumes the time we would otherwise spend on activities essential to our overall health, satisfaction, and well-being. In the Teacher Business Balance Membership, we develop customized systems and learn strategies like unplugging. We also learn to effectively manage this extra time in a way that works for you.

5 Benefits of Unplugging for Entrepreneur Teachers

A lot of marketing happens on social media. Because of this, unplugging is essential because of the increased demand to be on social media. Regularly unplugging will benefit your life and business in many ways. Here are the ones that are most relevant to you as a teacherpreneur. 

Unplugging allows you to:

1. Liberate time so you can focus on work-life balance. More time means you have energy for other essential aspects of your life, such as home, hobbies, and relationships, leading to a more balanced and satisfying lifestyle.
2. Rest more because it reduces screen time, especially if you unplug before bedtime. This helps improve your sleep quality and duration, leading to better overall health and well-being.
3. Enhance your focus and concentration because it reduces distractions, allowing you to more easily laser in on tasks and activities that require concentration - like certain aspects of your business. Examples could be creating newsletters, content, or products. 
4. Be more introspective and self-reflective, which fosters personal growth and self-awareness. This enables you to dedicate yourself to growth.
5. Be more in the present because disconnecting from social media helps you be more in the moment and appreciate IRL experiences without the pressure to document or share them online. This directly relates to many of the stress management techniques we talk about, like gratitude.

Set Boundaries to Minimize Social Media Stress

As entrepreneur teachers, we can't give up social media. Instead, we have to set boundaries and cultivate healthy habits. Once we do, we'll reap the many benefits of unplugging. Here are ways to start using boundaries for social media and stress.

• Set personal boundaries: Take the time to develop personal boundaries around how you want to handle social media. Write them down for yourself, and communicate your social media boundaries with friends, family, and/or clients. One way to do this is to provide "hours" on your social media pages or email signature. Or, you can post about how you're taking time "off" of social media, letting people know the details of your break.
• Schedule designated times: Allocate specific times during the day for using social media, and try to avoid using it outside these designated periods. Using a social media scheduling platform like Tailwind to set all your social up ahead of time means you don’t have to be on it daily or decreases the time per week that you spend on social media. Consistency is key and burning out due to posting everyday will make you lose that consistency.
  • The Tailwind affiliate link here also offers you an additional 50 FREE Ghostwriter credits for signing up!  
• Limit daily usage: Set a daily time limit for social media, using apps or built-in features on your phone to track and manage your screen time.
• Unfollow or mute: Unfollow or mute accounts that don’t bring value or positivity to your life or those that contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety, or comparison. Curate the feed that will motivate and support you to keep going, without taking away from your mental wellness.
• Mindful engagement: Engage with social media intentionally and mindfully, focusing on interactions and content that bring joy, inspiration, meaning, and business connections.
• Implement a bedtime curfew: Establish a cut-off time for using social media before bedtime. This allows your brain to unwind and promotes better sleep.
• Take a digital detox: Periodically take an extended break from social media, whether for a day, a weekend, or a longer period, to disconnect and recharge.
• Hire social media help like a virtual assistant. This person can take the demand off you by scheduling posts or interacting with your audience. You can also hire a writer to help with social posts! 

Setting social media boundaries will allow you to unplug easily and regularly, and help significantly reduce stress. Boundary-setting and time management is a personal process, and what's ideal for you likely won't work for another. This is why you should tailor your approach with systems and habits that suit your unique needs and priorities as an entrepreneur teacher. 

It's also important to be open to making adjustments as you learn what works best for you. It's a process that you'll refine and change over time!

Read more about boundaries for teacherpreneurs.

Learn More About How You Can Create a Balanced Teacher Business

My free monthly newsletter has a freebie, tips about how to complete a new strategy and a behind-the-scenes look into how this strategy looks in my business. You'll get immediate access to my free Stress Relief Kit when you sign up.

If you want even more support, stress management techniques, and resources, join our monthly membership. You'll receive new bonus items each month, a full workbook to support your progress (in your biz and personal life), a live workshop on a different topic each month, and a community of like-minded entrepreneur teachers. In the Teacher Business Balance membership, we work together to ensure you have the systems and skills to promote business growth and personal wellness. 

Applications for beta membership open on May 22nd, so get on the waitlist today! 

Can't wait to see you there!