Behind the “Unlikes:” Understanding Why People Quit Facebook

Nearly three-quarters of American adults use social media, so quitting Facebook — committing “virtual identity suicide” — isn’t easy. So why are more people considering it?

Researchers surveyed 310 people who opted out of Facebook by participating in the (online!) QuitFacebookDay.com campaign begun by users angry over the company’s privacy policies. The changes included a service that allowed people to sign their friends up to groups without their permission. Since the May 31, 2010, quit date, 40,633 people have closed their Facebook accounts.

Intrigued by what motivated the quitters to go cold turkey on social media, the scientists, from the University of Vienna in Austria, compared them to 321 people who chose to stay. Virtual suicide seemed to be an overwhelmingly male phenomenon— men made up a full 72% of those who opted out. Quitters were also generally older than those who stayed, with an average age of 31. Among those who stayed, 71% were women, with an average age of 24. (Adapted by Jessy Pearl)

Source: www.time.com