Have you heard of "Quit Facebook Day?" If not, you're not alone.
In response to the recent Facebook privacy issues, a batch of users
founded this
celebration of-sorts (not on Facebook, obviously) in hopes that
thousands more would join their commitment to deactivate their Facebook
accounts come May 31. Well, that's tomorrow, and according to a new
batch of research from Vision Critical, "Quit Facebook Day" appears to
be a bust.
It's unclear whether user apathy or Facebook's recent batch of
privacy modifications is the root of the failed attempt. Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new batch of simpler
privacy options for Facebook in a press conference last week as well
as alterations to the kind of information Facebook shares by default
with entities that aren't a user's actual friend, amongst other changes.
A variety of institutions praised
Facebook's new stance on privacy--users too. According to Vision
Critical, 61 percent of 699 surveyed users said that they were happy
with Facebook's response to the various privacy concerns surrounding its
operations, although 81 percent maintain that they're still going to
treat Facebook a little more carefully in regards to what information
they use or share on its network.
As for "Quit Facebook Day," only 11 percent of surveyed users had
even heard of the event at the time of Vision Critical's survey. While
22 percent of that 11 percent vowed to continue forward in deleting
their accounts, the number--once extrapolated--indicates that only two
percent of Facebook's entire U.S. user base plans to go forward with
account deletion. Quit Facebook Day's official site has 25,157
"confirmed" Facebook quitters as of this article's writing.
"These findings suggest that while Facebook users are becoming
increasingly concerned about their privacy and the type of information
they are sharing with others, the apocalyptic predictions of mass churn
from Facebook are highly overrated and likely fueled by a small but
vocal group of highly engaged Facebook consumers," says Matt
Kleinschmit, Senior Vice President of Media for Vision Critical.
"Too many users are just too vested in the service to delete their
account and dismantle a social network they have cultivated over time,"
he adds.
PCMag recently ran its own analysis of the top Facebook privacy
concerns compared up against Zuckerberg's proposed changes. For five of
the six privacy areas that editors demanded Facebook change,
Zuckerberg's announcements were found to only adequately cover two.
Check out our original analysis here and
our mash-up of Zuckerberg's promises against Facebook's critical privacy
weaknesses here.