It seems like every few weeks someone makes a bold announcement: they will be leaving social media. 

As lovely as that sounds, those working in social media, content creation, marketing or public relations, can’t exactly start the arduous journey of our peers—we can’t just log off completely. 

But, social media managers probably face higher rates of social media burnout. Not only are you scrolling for work, but you’re also probably scrolling to see what your high school best friend ate for dinner last Wednesday. 

So how can you set boundaries when you can’t exactly log off? 

Use moderation instead of abstinence

While all your friends are heroically deleting their social media, it might be better for you to reduce your social media usage by an hour a day instead of deleting it all together. A study of college students found positive benefits of social media, like relationships, life satisfaction and connection—to a certain point. 

When students reduced their social media they had more positive benefits than those that abstained altogether. While abstinence was better than the control (no change in usage), moderation won. 

Set aside a week to look at social media on your computer instead of your phone  

So, I have social media apps off of my phone right now, but I still check in on my computer. It’s helped me spend less time on it. 

I just stopped managing the account I was working with so I have more space to take a break. With that, I get to create some extra space from my social media accounts, but I still want to stay current on the trends and know what’s going on in the world. 

I check in so I don’t miss things in my city or just other social media things I like to be aware of as someone who writes copy for social media and likes to think strategically about social media. Looking at Instagram on my phone is way more addicting than looking at my computer. 

Be choosy. Only follow accounts you care about.

I’ve found it so helpful to keep who I follow to the bare minimum. On your personal account, go through your following and unfollow anyone you don’t need to see anymore. Unfollow the people from high school or college you never care to talk to again, influencer accounts you feel icky about or work-related accounts clogging up your feed. 

Once you’re only following people you care about, you’ll be able to use social media for personal connection on your own time and research/ trend following on your work time—that way you aren’t tempted to do personal scrolling at work or work scrolling at home. 

In your personal time, make sure you are super picky about who you follow. Remember you’re taking in these messages and they can affect you, so if someone makes you feel worse about yourself or you feel overly marketed to, just unfollow them. This can help you use social media for its intended purpose: connection. 

Social media isn’t bad and we shouldn’t have to fight to stay off it, but increased social media use is related to increases in stress. So, learn to moderate. Learn to take structured breaks. 

Have a social media free power hour 

Adrienne Herbert, author of the Power Hour, encourages her podcast listeners and readers to have a dedicated “Power Hour” every day. For Adrienne that means getting ahead on an important project, getting a run in or attacking something head-on for one hour every day. 

For people in communication, this is a wonderful opportunity to stay off your phone for a bit. Remember talking about moderation earlier? If decreasing social media use for one hour a day is beneficial to your life satisfaction, might as well start with a clear mind. Get up a little bit earlier and stay off social media until you absolutely must check.

Boundaries on social media, like in all areas of life, can help you utilize it for connection and relationships. See if setting time aside off your phone can help you reduce stress and improve your wellbeing.