Book part:
Unfriending and Becoming Unfriended on Facebook

Author(s): Gashi, LiridonaKnautz, Kathrin

Abstract

When using social networking services, such as Facebook, it is easy to become friends with other users. Unfriending (or defriending) is easy as well, requiring only that a user click on Facebook’s “Unfriend” button. This chapter highlights the types of friends who are most often unfriended on Facebook, the role of unfriending in connection with emotions, reasons for unfriending others, and being unfriended by someone. Furthermore, we concentrate on avoiding contact after the act of unfriending. Additionally, we investigate whether hiding and blocking can be interpreted as options for discontinuing contact, as well as why people might choose an alternative to unfriending. We conducted our research using unfriending applications, which demonstrate to the user he or she has been unfriended. The empirical basis of our research consists of 2,201 questionnaires, completed by individuals with Facebook accounts.

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Preferred Citation
BibTex
Gashi, Liridona; Knautz, Kathrin: Unfriending and Becoming Unfriended on Facebook. In: Knautz, Kathrin;Baran, Katsiaryna S.: Facets of Facebook: Use and Users. Berlin: de Gruyter 2016, S. 1-44. DOI: 10.25969/mediarep/11946.
@INCOLLECTION{Gashi2016,
 author = {Gashi, Liridona and Knautz, Kathrin},
 title = {Unfriending and Becoming Unfriended on Facebook},
 year = 2016,
 doi = {10.25969/mediarep/11946},
 editor = {Knautz, Kathrin and Baran, Katsiaryna S.},
 address = {Berlin},
 booktitle = {Facets of Facebook: Use and Users},
 pages = {1--44},
 publisher = {de Gruyter},
}
Keywords
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