More and more users consider Facebook, Twitter and Co. a “complete waste of time” » Leadersnet

Gallup study shows users are fed up with “pointless scrolling”.

Anger over wasted time, shifts in values, health, well-being, and special events are the top reasons people deactivate or give up social media accounts altogether. This is shown by an analysis by journalist Ghenwa Yehia and media researcher Karen McIntire from Virginia Commonwealth University Qscience has been published. Afterward, many respondents describe their social media use as “pointless scrolling” and “a complete waste of time.”

pain of all kinds

Respondents’ health complaints range from an increase in negative feelings such as stress, anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks following excessive use of social media to headaches, eye, finger, back and shoulder pain, and heart palpitations. Over 58 percent cite their mental or physical health and well-being as key factors in their decision to deactivate. About 65 percent had clear expectations that they would benefit greatly from deactivation.

38 percent cite a major external event that led to the disabling of social media. These include the corona pandemic and the death of an important family member. Another factor was that social media was no longer bringing what users expected when they signed up. “All respondents disabled one or more social media apps,” the study said. However, only three respondents stayed permanently. The rest chose to use social media cyclically.

India as a special case

Indians are the most likely to distance themselves from social media, it has been said. 497,940 people make this wish online every month, as revealed by Reboot Online, a digital agency in London. However, if you take into account the number of active Internet users in India (755,820,000), that is only 0.066 percent.

www.vcu.edu