Quitting Facebook makes people happier and less informed about politics, but less partisan, too, according to new research.
A paradox: Despite near-constant data misuse scandals emanating from Facebook over the past year, there’s little evidence people are choosing to switch off their accounts entirely. However, a new study suggests it might be worth considering giving it a go, even temporarily.
The study: The researchers from Stanford University and New York University recruited a group of 2,488 people who use Facebook for on average an hour a day. They randomly assigned half of them to turn off their accounts for four weeks during the run-up to the midterm elections last year. In return they were paid $102, a value in line with previous studies of Facebook’s “worth” to users. The subjects were regularly asked to log their mood via text messages from researchers, who verified that they were indeed keeping their accounts inactive.
Don’t settle for half the story.
Get paywall-free access to technology news for the here and now.
