Facebook lost 9 million users in US
Facebook users are quitting the US online social networking service in large numbers due to privacy concerns and fear of internet addiction, new research shows.
Researchers from the University of Vienna analyzed 600 participants’ responses to assessment measures based on their level of concern over various issues.
Reasons for quitting Facebook were mainly privacy concerns (48.3 percent), followed by a general dissatisfaction (13.5 percent), negative aspects of online friends (12.6 percent) and the feeling of getting addicted (6.0 percent).
Earlier this year research showed Facebook had lost 9 million monthly users in the United States and 2 million in Britain. Studies show the majority of users that quit the social website were older males.
Facebook, among other tech giants, have been repeatedly under scrutiny for their lack of user privacy, including turning over thousands of user™s info to the US government.
In August, Facebook revealed that the US government had asked the social network to disclose information on at least 20,000 of its users.
Facebook said it received œboth criminal and national security requests” made by local law enforcement officials and national security agencies.
œGiven high profile stories such as WikiLeaks and the recent [National Security Agency] NSA surveillance reports, individual citizens are becoming increasingly more wary of cyber-related privacy concerns,” said Brenda Wiederhold, editor of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking which published the findings.
Following the revelations by American whistleblower Edward Snowden about mass spying programs by the NSA, various Internet and communications companies are under pressure to protect the privacy of their users.
AHT/ARA
Copyright: Press TV
Source: http://rinf.com/alt-news/breaking-news/facebook-lost-9-million-users-in-us/70695/
