Quitting social media: a qualitative exploration of communication outcomes

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.

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