Should you ask your social media manager if they're okay?

Every social media manager remembers the first time an anonymous internet troll called them an "intern." We're told on the daily that a trained monkey could do our jobs, and we spend our time in the trenches of internet, trying to be the funniest, coolest, chicest or most noticed of all the brands out there - who are all competing to do the exact same thing.

Social media is not always a joyful job. I've heard stories of social media managers being forced to use fake names online to keep their privacy protected, and many of us are forcing ourselves to take entire vacations where we go off-the-grid, simply to restore our mental health.

So should you ask your social media manager if they're okay? Absolutely.

Here's why:

The internet isn't always a fun place
 
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh recently studied adults aged 18-30 and found that a direct relation to increased depression and negative social media experiences. For every 10% increase in reported negative experiences on social media, there was a 20% leap in the person's odds of reporting depressive symptoms. Another study by the Royal Society of Public Health revealed that 70% of young people think social media should come with a pop-up disclaimer that it could negatively affect your mental health.

Now imagine your entire career is to be surrounded by these platforms. Twelve hours a day. And then you get to come home to the notifications, too.

Social media managers deal with a vast array of internet bullying and insults, and much of the time, we're expected to reply with grace and assistance to internet trolls. I once spent an entire day conversing with legal, brand managers, and my agency team, after an internet troll made a fake video claiming there were bugs in their toothpaste. While the video proved to be a prank, the 14 hours I spent writing a potential statement, talking to internal scientists about if this was even possible, and fearing the video would be shared by news outlets, was enough to ruin my week.

As a social media manager, we spend our entire days tethered to channels where we are expected to tend to upset individuals, or plain ol' trolls. We're basically being groomed for depression, and for some of us, it's working.

Increased responsibilities, without an increase in team members
 
Today's social media managers aren't only expected to ideate "viral" content, they're also expected to be able to analyze and report sales and leads from social media content, handle entire influencer campaigns, memorize GDPR legal rules, and also reply to customer service needs that demand immediate attention - no matter the hour. We're consistently flooded with notifications from consumers, on top of emails, meetings and requests from our colleagues and bosses.

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