Exhausted by Social Media: Trying to Build a Business When You’re Just Making It Up as You Go
Let’s start with the obvious: I am so tired. Not tired like “take a nap and you’ll be fine,” but tired like “if I see one more Instagram growth hack promising me 10k followers overnight, I will throat-punch myself just to end the misery.”
I knew starting a business would be hard. What I did not realize was that apparently, in order to sell a single product or service in 2025, you also need to:
be a full-time content creator
understand algorithms that shift faster than my moods
edit videos with the skill of a Hollywood intern
write captions that are witty, heartfelt, SEO-friendly, and preferably cure seasonal depression (we all know Mr. AI takes care of this for me, but still)
And that’s just for Instagram. Don’t even get me started on TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, and whatever new platform is going to pop up tomorrow to make me feel like an underachiever.
Fumbling My Way Through the Void
Here’s how it used to go:
Day 1: Fired up. I plan my content calendar, batch graphics in Canva, and feel like a professional.
Day 2: I post. Engagement is decent. I feel hopeful.
Day 3: I post again. Crickets. My mom likes it out of pity.
Day 4: I question all my life choices and start googling “jobs that don’t require social media.”
And yes, I know the advice: “consistency is key.” But what no one tells you is that “consistency” basically means you’re working a second unpaid full-time job…on top of the first mostly unpaid one. Ha! I’m not just selling a product. I’m running a 24/7 improv show for an audience that may or may not even show up.
And it’s not just that. It’s the countless connection requests and DMs trying to sell fluff. IT. NEVER. STOPS.
The Double Life of the Creator-Entrepreneur
The wild part? I’m actually proud of what I’m building—my merch, my journals, my books, all of it. But social media makes me feel like I’m constantly on stage, which is… no bueno for the level of scopophobia I live with. Add PDA into the mix and it’s a recipe for shutdown.
I want to be authentic, but I also want people to notice. I want reach, but I don’t want to be “the face.” I want to connect, but I don’t want to dance on TikTok. Reconcile that if you can.
So it’s this constant ping-pong between:
“This is fun, I get to share my voice!”
“This is exhausting, I must cease existence immediately.”
Making It Up as I Go
The truth is, I don’t know what I’m doing. Not really. I’m just throwing things into the algorithm soup and hoping something floats. And yet, somehow, that’s what building a business looks like right now: messy, uncertain, loud, a little (ok, A LOT) embarrassing.
And maybe that’s okay. Maybe the trick isn’t “mastering the algorithm” so much as surviving it long enough to keep building the thing you actually care about.
I Know I’m Not Alone
I was talking to a friend the other day—she’s in the same boat, though she at least has a paycheck to fall back on (lucky girl). And she’s the most social social butterfly in all the land, but even she’s worn out.
We were not built for this. I firmly believe that 24/7/365 connection to the entire planet is destroying us. Some of us clearly have a much lower tolerance for it than others, but even the highly tolerant are cracking under the weight. They just might not admit it yet.
It’s unnatural.
The Real Moral
I’ve stepped back. I had to. I can’t build something meaningful while burning myself out by trying to perform (poorly) for platforms that don’t actually care if I collapse.
There has to be another way—and being the problem solver that I am, I’ll figure it out. Eventually.
If you’ve stepped away from social media (or want to), how are you making it work?
Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn for visuals and bite-sized insights from this piece. (This is just dripping with irony, no?) And if this resonated, share it with someone else who gets it.
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About the Author
Gal is an autistic artist, late-diagnosed at 49, and the creator of AuRTistic Expressions—a space where neurodivergent truth meets creative survival. Through blog posts, printables, courses, and the “This Might Get Messy” podcast, Gal explores what it means to unmask safely, communicate authentically, and make art that doesn’t ask for permission. Stick around—there’s plenty more where this came from.
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