Pew Survey: About a Third of U.S. Adults Have Left an Online Community, With Losing Interest the Most Common Reason
A Pew Research Center survey released on October 14 finds that about a third of U.S. adults say they have ever left an online community. The survey, conducted May 26 to June 1, 2026, under the Pew-Knight Initiative, defined online communities broadly, covering groups on social media, discussion forums, email and messaging groups, and online video games.
Among those who have left, losing interest is the most common reason: more than eight in ten cite it, and it is the only reason a majority name as a major factor. Declining quality and life changes are also cited by majorities as at least minor reasons. Toxicity is another factor: 57 percent of those who left cite too much arguing, and 43 percent cite harassment. Just over four in ten left because politics was brought up too much, and 37 percent left because they were spending too much time there.
Younger adults are more likely both to belong to online communities and to have left one than older adults. Nearly four in ten U.S. adults say they are currently part of an online community, including close to half of those under 30.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：街头低头使用手机的行人。照片：Garry Knight 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Pedestrians absorbed in their phones. Photo by Garry Knight, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
