I recently saw someone post about how it’s a dark time to work in social media. There are days where that feels about right.

I have friends who are being directly and indirectly affected by a lot of the change going on in our country. And I can count myself as one of those people. It’s rough. But so many of us feel like we are in a dark time and don’t really know the next steps.

But if we want to continue in this career, we do have to keep taking steps forward during every kind of time. So what can we do?

Focus on the community

If we’re all scared, can you imagine how your community feels? Especially if you work in nonprofit, you are probably dealing with a community who doesn’t know what will happen next.

We can go into what a community dealing with these emotions might need at another time. Let’s talk about your role in your community during a dark time instead.

You are giving them the best information and you are giving them a place to talk about what they’re scared of, as well as their hopes and dreams. Your role in this community is vital. They might keep going without you, but it will be with less information and togetherness. And who knows how long a community can stand together without those two very important ingredients?

So if you’re finding it hard to keep doing business as normal on your social media accounts, then focus on what that might bring to your community and the comfort they may be receiving from it. They may actually need those posts that you sometimes find it hard to do during these times, and you may actually be doing something good. Is it small in the grand scheme of things? Sure, but small things do tend to grow.

Find the good in every day

The doom scroll is strong with all of us. It’s easy to get stuck in it because there is just so much bad in the world. But if you get stuck, you will get paralyzed and that won’t help anyone.

A much better way to go about life is finding the good. One way I used to do it (and probably should get back to) is writing three things I am thankful for when I wake up and then again when I went to bed. It changes your mindset. Instead of looking for the bad every day, you’re suddenly consciously looking for the good.

The same has happened since I started asking my partner every night what his favorite part of the day is. There are some days he’ll stop what we’re doing with a big grin on his face and say, “This is going to be my favorite part of the day.” Knowing and recognizing you’re in the good part of your day gives you a bit of high that you can use to get through some of those not-so-great parts of your day.

Make your social media work for you

If you constantly feel dark and like you can’t get through your day, I would take a look at what is coming up on your social media feeds. Although it’s good to be informed, it’s not okay to be bombarded by the same messages over and over again.

Prioritize a few accounts that give the best information. Unfollow anything else. If that means unfollowing friends, use techniques like mute to preserve the relationship. It’s okay to like someone offline and find their social media presence not your cup of tea. And if they mention a big life update that they posted about, you can always say that you didn’t see it because of that dang algorithm. So leave all that guilt behind about muting friends. This is all about making social media work for you and improve your mood after all.

Your next step is to double down on the content that brings you joy. For me, that’s costuming, crochet and dance accounts. Whatever it is for you, go on a following spree within that genre. Try out the different accounts and if you find any of them is not bringing you joy, just unfollow. You’re just auditioning them to see if they belong in your feed. Not all of them are going to make it.

How will you know if this works? You won’t dread opening up your social media accounts every day. And if you did a really, really good job, you’ll look forward to it. If you continue to have that sense of dread, you might want to continue to fine tune who you are following until you don’t. Social media, in the end, should be fun and make you happy.

If you are finding that none of this is working and you need something else, give therapy a try. Being able to talk out your fears to a neutral person could be just what you need. And if you still find yourself in a slump after that, it may be time to start planning that exit from a career in social media. This isn’t failure. Social media is a hard place to work in and it’s good if you figure out that it’s not for you. That way you can move onto something that is.

How do you keep going during a dark time?