Yes, it’s true. As much as we love social media around here, we recognize that it can to be overpowering. There are just some days when that person who really needs to see a psychiatrist crosses the line. Or, when the business that runs ANOTHER contest that 15 of your friends get suckered into, which, of course, fills up your feed, just rubs you the wrong way for the last time. These situations combined with the usual crazies and endless photos are sometimes just too much.

Is anyone willing to relate?

A new Pew study even found that more than 60 percent of Facebook users have taken a “Facebook vacation” that lasts up to several weeks. The reasons, as seen below, vary between not having enough time for the site and the lack of compelling content.

Now, there are probably some purists who would never admit to such a thing, but yes, social media fatigue does, in fact, happen. We have reached that point in the social media game. It happens with individual social profiles and especially with people that manage multiple social media accounts. But, you know what? It’s okay.

If you’re planning an event with any number of people, it’s common knowledge to know that there is always going to be that one or sometimes that handful of people that aren’t happy with something. We’re human, and we’re hard to please. So, why would it be any different online?

The good news is that, if you’re proactive, you can recover from this feeling of fatigue and overload.

For starters, have a plan for your social networks and stick to it. Your social media activity should be directly related to your brand’s goals. If it’s not, there’s going to be a problem. Instead of posting random facts sporadically, sit down and create a content plan. This type of organization will also help you easily see trends.

Secondly, make sure that you balance your online and offline social efforts. Even though it’s repeated all the time, so many people and businesses still don’t get that online social efforts are just an extension of offline initiatives. They work in tandem. It’s like peanut butter and jelly. (For those of you who don’t like PB&J, you’re crazy, first of all, and secondly, ignore this analogy.) You can’t push one at the expense of the other.

If you find yourself starting to go stir-crazy, find a conference or tweet-up to attend. In other words, remind yourself that there are other people behind those other social accounts that need human interaction too.

Lastly, use time management for your social networks. More often than not, social media experts push the importance of investing in social media. We believe wholeheartedly in this concept, but we also recognize that there is such a thing as being too active.

For instance, constant posting doesn’t necessarily result in a benefit. To tell the truth, it could actually cause more harm than good on a platform like Facebook. The social network’s EdgeRank algorithm works much like Google’s PageRank in that it filters results in and out of users’ feeds based on various factors including time and engagement. More simply put, too frequent posts could actually drive the EdgeRank down.

This doesn’t, however, mean that you should spend less time on social platforms. What it means is that instead of constantly creating new posts, you could spend your time building partnerships and having conversations apart from your brand page.

Setting aside a specific amount of time for social media is also very beneficial in time management since it puts a stronger emphasis on meeting goals.

In the end, understand that social media can be very overwhelming.  But before you write off social media for good, or quit your job if you’re a social media manager, take a step back and evaluate your social strategy. You may simply need to take some steps to change your approach.