6 in 10 users took a break from Twitter in past year in US: Pew survey

IANS

San Francisco, May 18

Six in 10 Americans who used Twitter in the past 12 months say they have taken a break from the platform for a period of several weeks or more during that span, a new study by Pew Research Center in the US has revealed.

While a majority who used Twitter in the past year report taking a break from the platform, a quarter of them say they are not likely to use it a year from now, according to the Pew survey conducted about five months after billionaire Elon Musk acquired the platform for $44 billion.

Among current and recent Twitter users, women are more likely than men to say they have taken a break from the platform in the past year (69 per cent vs 54 per cent).

"Black users (67 per cent) are more likely than their White (60 per cent) or Hispanic (54 per cent) counterparts to say the same. There were not enough Asian American Twitter users to allow for a separate analysis," said the survey that came out late on Wednesday.

The findings came amid debates in the media and even questions posed by Musk himself about whether Twitter is "dying." Since Musk acquired the platform, some celebrities have publicly announced their departures from the site and popular accounts have reported abnormally large gains and losses in followers, among other changes.

The survey also asked current and recent Twitter users how likely they are to use the platform a year from now.

"A plurality (40 per cent) say they are extremely or very likely to use the site in a year, and 35 per cent say they are somewhat likely to use it. But a quarter say they are not very or not at all likely to be on Twitter a year from now," the results showed.

The analysis also found partisan differences in users' plans to remain on Twitter.

Greater shares of current or recent Twitter users who are Democrats or Democratic-leaning say it is unlikely they will be on Twitter in a year compared with their GOP counterparts (29 per cent vs 20 per cent).

Current or recent users who are Republican or Republican-leaning, in turn, are more likely than Democrats to say it is likely they will use the site a year from now (45 per cent vs. 36 per cent).

"Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to say they are extremely likely to be on the site at that time," according to the survey.

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