Annoying friends and info burnout drive people off Facebook

Facebook may have more than a billion users, but quite a few of them aren't sticking around, according to a study.

42 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds and 34 per cent of 30 to 49-year-olds are spending less time on the social network than a year ago, the Pew Research Centre's Internet & American Life Project says.

Furthermore, 61 per cent of current users say they've taken weeks-long breaks from the social network, and 20 per cent have stopped using it altogether. So why are they falling out with it?

Of those who took a break, 21 per cent said they were too busy or didn't have time to keep up with an online social life. 10 per cent said they weren't interested or just didn't like it, and another 10 per cent described Facebook as a waste of time or irrelevant.

"Tired of stupid comments"

The anecdotal reasons hint at people tiring of social networking in general. They include: "I was tired of stupid comments"; "I took a break when it got boring"; "You get burned out after a while" and "People were [posting] what they had for dinner."

Not that Facebook should be too worried. The study shows 69 per cent of American adults who are online (which is more than half the entire adult population of the US) use a social network, with Facebook by far the most popular.

And most people in the study plan to use the social network just as much in the next year.

Are you over Facebook? Let us know in the comments below.

Via Pew