Cleaning house or quiet quitting? Large-scale analysis of account deletion behaviour on Tumblr

Abstract

Disengagement from social media platforms encompasses various behaviours, such as reducing activity or abandoning them altogether. At the far end of this spectrum, permanently deleting user accounts holds substantial implications for individuals, the people they contact, and the platform itself. However, the motivations underlying this choice, which involves erasing all content and social connections rather than simply abandoning the platform, remain unclear. To address this research gap, we analysed 4.5 million active users on Tumblr, a microblogging service. We assessed the likelihood of users deleting their accounts using binary logistic regression in general and in specific clusters of users. Our findings reveal that users are more inclined to delete their accounts if they have previously removed content from their profiles, highlighting the role of account deletion in cleaning and controlling personal information. Additionally, we observed robust peer correlations, indicating that users are more likely to delete their accounts if those they follow have already taken this step. We discuss these findings in the context of non-use theories and propose the development of checking-out processes that can enhance the user experience associated with account deletion.