{"id":8110,"date":"2023-05-17T11:56:05","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T16:56:05","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-06T17:12:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T21:12:43","slug":"majority-of-us-twitter-users-say-theyve-taken-a-break-from-the-platform-in-the-past-year","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/17\/majority-of-us-twitter-users-say-theyve-taken-a-break-from-the-platform-in-the-past-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of U.S. Twitter users say they\u2019ve taken a break from the platform in the past year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A majority of Americans who have used Twitter in the past year report taking a break from the platform during that time, and a quarter say they are not likely to use it a year from now, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted about five months after billionaire <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/10\/27\/technology\/elon-musk-twitter-deal-complete.html\">Elon Musk acquired the site<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Research Center conducted this study to gain insight into Twitter users\u2019 habits on the platform. This analysis is based on a survey conducted among 10,701 U.S. adults from March 13 to 19, 2023. It focuses on current and recent Twitter users, defined as those who answered yes to either of these questions: \u201cDo you use Twitter?\u201d or \u201cHave you used Twitter in the past 12 months?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everyone who took part is a member of Pew Research Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way, nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_topline.pdf\">the questions used&nbsp;for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, and&nbsp;its <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_methodology.pdf\">methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10774\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/17\/majority-of-us-twitter-users-say-theyve-taken-a-break-from-the-platform-in-the-past-year\/sr_2023-05-17_twitter_1-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dddfdf\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dddfdf;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_1.png?resize=480,725 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_1.png?resize=620,936 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"468\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_1.png?w=310\" alt=\"A bar chart that shows women who have used Twitter in the past year are more likely than men to say they\u2019ve taken a break from the platform.\" class=\"wp-image-10774 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six-in-ten Americans who have 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, while roughly four-in-ten (39%) say they have not done this, according to the survey of U.S. adults, conducted March 13-19, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some groups are more likely than others to say they have taken a break from the platform, with especially pronounced differences by gender, race and ethnicity. 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% vs. 54%). And Black users (67%) are more likely than their White (60%) or Hispanic (54%) counterparts to say the same. (There were not enough Asian American Twitter users to allow for a separate analysis.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are no significant differences by age or political affiliation when it comes to taking a hiatus from the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These findings come <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/technology\/2023\/4\/15\/23683554\/twitter-dying-elon-musk-x-company\">amid debates in the media<\/a> and even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/companies\/people\/elon-musk-s-shares-a-cryptic-tweet-on-is-twitter-dying-with-an-eye-on-top-accounts-11649563719675.html\">questions posed by Musk himself<\/a> about whether Twitter is \u201cdying.\u201d Since Musk acquired the platform, some celebrities have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/pop-culture\/celebrity\/twitter-celebrities-leaving-elon-musk-rcna54831\">publicly announced their departures from the site<\/a> and popular accounts have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/elon-musk-twitter-users-leaving-deal-to-buy-platform-2022-4\">reported abnormally large gains and losses in followers<\/a>, among other changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-420-wide\"><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-10777\" href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/17\/majority-of-us-twitter-users-say-theyve-taken-a-break-from-the-platform-in-the-past-year\/sr_2023-05-17_twitter_2-png\/\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dce1e1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dce1e1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_2.png?resize=480,485 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_2.png?resize=782,789 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_2.png?resize=840,848 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"424\" width=\"420\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_2.png?w=420\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that Twitter users differ by gender and party over whether they expect to be on the platform a year from now.\" class=\"wp-image-10777 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey also asked current and recent Twitter users how likely they are to use the platform a year from now. A plurality (40%) say they are extremely or very likely to use the site in a year, and 35% 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among current or recent Twitter users, a larger share of women than men say it is unlikely they will be on the platform in a year (30% vs. 20%). Conversely, current or recent Twitter users who are men are more likely than women to say they likely <em>will<\/em> use the platform a year from now (47% vs. 31%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis also finds partisan differences in users\u2019 plans to remain on the site, aligning with previous Center research that highlights how <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/01\/after-musks-takeover-big-shifts-in-how-republican-and-democratic-twitter-users-view-the-platform\/\">Republican and Democratic Twitter users have differing views of the platform<\/a>. 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% vs. 20%). 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% vs. 36%). Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to say they are <em>extremely<\/em> likely to be on the site at that time (25% vs. 17%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are differences by gender within both political parties on this question. Among current or recent Twitter users, Republican men stand out as the most likely to say they will use the platform a year from now (51%), compared with Republican women (35%) and with both Democratic men (42%) and women (29%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Current or recent Twitter users who have not taken a recent break from the site are more than twice as likely as those who <em>have <\/em>taken a break to predict they will be on Twitter a year from now (63% vs. 26%). Just 8% of those who have not taken a break from the site say it is unlikely they will use Twitter in a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are minimal differences by age in these responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_topline.pdf\">the questions used\u00a0for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, and\u00a0its <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/sr_2023.05.17_twitter_methodology.pdf\">methodology<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-callout has-beige-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"read-more-about-americans-views-and-habits-on-twitter\">Read more about Americans\u2019 views and habits on Twitter:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/01\/after-musks-takeover-big-shifts-in-how-republican-and-democratic-twitter-users-view-the-platform\/\">After Musk\u2019s takeover, big shifts in how Republican and Democratic Twitter users view the platform<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/17\/how-us-adults-on-twitter-use-the-site-in-the-elon-musk-era\/\">How U.S. adults on Twitter use the site in the Elon Musk era<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A quarter of Americans who have used Twitter in the past year say they are not likely to use it a year from now. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":658,"featured_media":10780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_crdt_document":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-05-17T15:56:27Z","apple_news_api_id":"2f2b104a-31cd-451f-ba8f-5fa7ff647b70","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-05-17T16:50:55Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ALysQSjHNRR-6j1-n_2R7cA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"bylines":[{"key":"_izcajz5d3","termId":645}],"acknowledgements":[],"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[34,305,307,312],"bylines":[645],"collection":[],"datasets":[2738],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[526],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-8110","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet-technology","category-platforms-services","category-social-media","category-twitter-x","bylines-michelle-faverio","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-123","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-internet"],"label":"Short Read","post_parent":0,"word_count":827,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/17\/majority-of-us-twitter-users-say-theyve-taken-a-break-from-the-platform-in-the-past-year\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":10780,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_topic.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_topic.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":10787,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_crop.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_crop.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"","chartArt":true},"A3":{"id":10787,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_crop.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_crop.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"","chartArt":true},"A4":{"id":10787,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_crop.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_crop.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"","chartArt":true},"XL":{"id":10780,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_topic.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_topic.png?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"social":{"id":10792,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_feature.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/05\/23.04.25_TwitterHabits_feature.png?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Many US Twitter users have taken a break from Twitter, and some may not use it a year from now %page%","description":"A quarter of Americans who have used Twitter in the past year say they are not likely to use it a year from now.","og_title":"Majority of U.S. Twitter users say they\u2019ve taken a break from the platform in the past year","og_description":"A quarter of Americans who have used Twitter in the past year say they are not likely to use it a year from now.","schema_type":"Article","noindex":false,"canonical_url":"","primary_terms":{"category":307,"formats":467,"regions-countries":515,"research-teams":526},"custom_schema":[],"twitter_title":"Majority of U.S. Twitter users say they\u2019ve taken a break from the platform in the past year","twitter_description":"A quarter of Americans who have used Twitter in the past year say they are not likely to use it a year from now.","og_image":10792,"indexnow_submitted_at":null,"gsc_index_status":null},"prepublish_checks":{},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"relatedPostsOrdered":[],"bylinesOrdered":[{"key":"_izcajz5d3","termId":645}],"acknowledgementsOrdered":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read\/8110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/short-read"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8110"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read\/8110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98130,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/short-read\/8110\/revisions\/98130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"bylines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bylines?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"datasets","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/datasets?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"_post_visibility","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_post_visibility?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"_fund_pool","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_fund_pool?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"regions-countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions-countries?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"research-teams","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-teams?post=8110"},{"taxonomy":"workflow-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workflow-status?post=8110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}