Insta
Social Media Has Real Value: Facebook Users Place $1000 Price On Closing Their Account For One Year
Facebook CEO and Chairman, Mark Zuckerberg. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
According to a study published by researchers at the Tufts University (USA), a user would have to spend around $1000 (~Rs 70,000) to deactivate his Facebook (FB) account for one year, reports The Tribune.
The study, whose results were published in the journal PLOS ONE, was the result of a collaboration between three economists and a social media researcher. They combined their work and expertise to gauge the value of each user to Facebook.
The researchers conducted a series of auctions, in which users were financially compensated to close their FB accounts for varying periods of time. “Auction participants faced real financial consequences, so had an incentive to seriously consider what compensation they would want to close their accounts for a set period of time and to bid truthfully,” said author Sean B. Cash, one of the authors of the study.
This methodology to ascertain the value of Facebook to a user ($1000) was different from the usually applied frameworks which determine the value on the basis of the company’s market value or its contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP).
Contrasting the popular notion that Facebook and other social media sites are harmful or do not offer real value to users, Professor Jay Corrigan noted: “We know people must derive tremendous value from Facebook or they wouldn’t spend millions of hours on the site every day. The challenge is how to put a dollar value on a service people don’t pay for.”
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
