Revealed: Four Tricks Social Networking Sites Use to Keep You Addicted (Video)

 

If you’ve ever thought about permanently leaving Facebook, you’re not alone. An online research has revealed reasons why people keep coming back after trying to break the addiction of online social networking sites. 

 

 

The act of leaving social media and then returning is called, ‘social media reversion’, according to Eric Baumer, the lead researcher in the study, and the rest of the team. Using data provided by 99daysoffreedom.com, the researchers were able to specifically target individuals who willing pledged to distance themselves from the site,because they can't do it on their own. By studying this information the group found four main facts that led to them returning.

 

The first being perceived addiction, which is for those who feel they are addicted to Facebook, or habitual, are more likely to return after a hiatus.

 

Last year, an online campaign invited Facebook users to log out of the site for 99 days and complete surveys about their moods every 33 days. Researchers discovered four themes from these surveys that show why we keep coming back, even if we swear we’ve had enough.

 

 

The first reason is addiction - those who feel that Facebook is addictive or habitual are more likely to return, according to the group's research. 

 

Another reason is privacy and surveillance - those who use Facebook largely to manage how other people think of them are more likely to log back in.

 

The third reason is subjective mood - users in a good mood are less likely to renege on their pledge to stay off Facebook.

 

The fourth reason is other social media -- the researchers found that Facebook users are less likely to log back in if they had other social media outlets - like Twitter, for instance.

 

These findings were made from analysing more than 5,000 surveys that were issued to participants by Just, the Dutch creative agency that founded 99 Days of Freedom project.

 

 

 

 

Source: Dailymail