Pew: Facebook use pervasive, even as users take breaks

New York • Too much drama, boredom and scads of irrelevant information are just some of the reasons Facebook users give for taking a break from the world's biggest social networking site for weeks at a time, according to a new study.

A report from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that 61 percent of Facebook users had taken a hiatus of at least several weeks for a myriad of reasons, whether they were weary from an onslaught of gossip, or for the more pious, the arrival of Lent.

Yet the use of Facebook, whether constant or not, is pervasive in America.

Of the American adults who use the Internet, 67 percent are on Facebook, Pew found. That compares with 20 percent who use LinkedIn and 16 percent who are on Twitter.

But users do come and go, some temporarily, and some for good. Twenty percent of those with Internet access said they used the site at one point, but no longer do. By its own count, Facebook Inc. has 1.06 billion users worldwide who check in at least once a month. This includes millions of duplicate and fake accounts. More than 150 million users are in the U.S.

The largest slice of users, 20 percent, said that they were simply too busy with their own lives to follow the constant stream of status updates, George Takei quotes and baby photos.

Privacy and security concerns, which have received plenty of media coverage, were low on the list. Only 4 percent of people gave these reasons, combined with concerns about ads and spam, as their "Facebook vacation" motivation.

Lee Rainie, director of the Internet and American Life Project, said privacy is more of a big policy question that users do not concern themselves with day-by-day. Rather, people are contemplating how they spend their time and allocate their attention.

Although users do take Facebook breaks, they are logging in more frequently than ever, the study found.

Among other interesting tidbits:

• 59 percent of Facebook users said that the site is about as important to them as it was a year ago.

• 12 percent said Facebook is more important to them than it was a year ago and 28 percent said it has become less important.

• 8 percent said they took a break from Facebook because they were spending too much time using it.

• 69 percent said they plan to spend the same amount of time on Facebook in the coming year. Twenty-seven percent plan to spend less time on the site and 3 percent, more time.

Responding to the report, Facebook said that its growth and user engagement remains strong.

The Pew study of 1,006 U.S. adults was done in December. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points. —

Pew Research Facebook study

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