Why some people do not use Facebook?

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Social Network Analysis and Mining

Publication Date

12-1-2019

Abstract

© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature. Facebook is the most pervasive social network in the world. While, we would commonly expect everyone who has access to the Internet to use Facebook, some people have chosen not to join or to opt-out of its services. This qualitative study is an effort to understand the justifications that drive their decision. Based on in-depth semi-structured interviews, several recurring reasons were identified for Facebook non-use. Some results obtained are truly consistent with previous research. These include perceived security issues and safety risks, absence of trust, privacy concerns, influence of important others, lack of control, uselessness, availability of alternatives, lack of interest, and inappropriate content. However, some findings, such as one’s attitude toward the Facebook company and online social connectedness, diverge from previously published work. There is also enough evidence in the results to support the existence of additional contributing reasons for the rejection of Facebook that have not been directly reported before. These include religious beliefs, influence of culture, and a concern toward one’s information being available online: a point that we do put forward for further inquiry.

ISSN

1869-5450

Publisher

Springer-Verlag Wien

Volume

9

Issue

1

Last Page

14

Disciplines

Computer Sciences

Keywords

Culture, Facebook, Privacy, Religion, Social influence, Use context

Scopus ID

85065566885

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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