Title

Quitting Social Media: A Qualitative Exploration of Communication Outcomes

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-7-2020

Publication Title

Qualitative Research Reports in Communication

First page number:

1

Last page number:

9

Abstract

Qualitative interviews (N = 20) were conducted to investigate how individuals who previously used social media but had since quit perceived the benefits and drawbacks of nonuse. Findings from the interviews suggest users experienced several communicative benefits, including an increase in meaningful interactions with close relational partners and a decrease in social comparison with weak ties. On the other hand, many participants experienced drawbacks to quitting social media as well, expressing concerns primarily regarding job networking, and many also stated they felt “out of the loop” with the rest of the world around them regarding viral internet content. Implications related to social media nonuse as it relates to the existing literature are discussed.

Keywords

Facebook; Instagram; Interviews; Social media nonuse; Twitter

Disciplines

Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Media

Language

English

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