Missing Photos, Suffering Withdrawal, or Finding Freedom? How Experiences of Social Media Non-Use Influence the Likelihood of Reversion

Abstract

This article examines social media reversion, when a user intentionally ceases using a social media site but then later resumes use of the site. We analyze a convenience sample of survey data from people who volunteered to stay off Facebook for 99 days but, in some cases, returned before that time. We conduct three separate analyses to triangulate on the phenomenon of reversion: simple quantitative predictors of reversion, factor analysis of adjectives used by respondents to describe their experiences of not using Facebook, and statistical topic analysis of free-text responses. Significant factors predicting either increased or decreased likelihood of reversion include, among others, prior use of Facebook, experiences associated with perceived addiction, issues of social boundary negotiation such as privacy and surveillance, use of other social media, and friends' reactions to non-use. These findings contribute to the growing literature on technology non-use by demonstrating how social media users negotiate, both with each other and with themselves, among types and degrees of use and non-use.

Toward human-centered algorithm design

“…This fact was pointedly highlighted in a study of emotional contagion (Kramer et al, 2014). Despite this practice having existed for quite some time previously, the Kramer et al study resulted in significant backlash, including some calls to try abandoning Facebook (Baumer et al, 2015b).…”

When Subjects Interpret the Data

“…Recent work in CSCW, HCI, and related areas has highlighted the importance of technology non-use [6,81,95]. Individual studies have taken a variety of approaches, including comparing users and non-users [1,8,36,44,78,85,88], examining the motivations for avoiding or resisting a given technology [2,5,69], arguing for the benefits of approaches that transcend a strict binary between use and non-use [2,6,10,44,50], and exploring the broader social, technical, and cultural milieux in which these practices unfold [15,43,66,82,83,96,98].…”

“…A few studies examine how an individual's relationship with others, particularly romantic partners, may shape her/his technology use [15,27,99]. Baumer et al [8] find that, when an individual leaves Facebook, others' reactions to that departure influence whether the individual subsequently returns to the site. Baumer et al [5] also find evidence for a social contagion effect, in that survey respondents who knew someone else who had deactivated their Facebook account were significantly more likely to have deactivated their own account.…”

“…After gaining informed consent, the survey began by describing our prior survey. Respondents then answered which of a series of statements applied to them, including "I have, at least once, deactivated my Facebook account," "I have voluntarily taken a break from using Facebook for several weeks or more," and others (emphasis original) [8,44,72]. This was followed by a series of five results and accompanying sets of questions informed by our prior survey, all of which included some elements of a similar template.…”

“…Technology non-use provides case well suited to examining study participants' perceptions and interpretations, particularly because of the varying degrees of visibility involved. While some people "quit Facebook in a huff" [69:1042], others' sudden absence may go virtually unnoticed [8] for a variety of reasons. Deactivating your account means that "your profile won't be visible to other people on Facebook" [https://www.facebook.com/help/214376678584711].…”