Disconnecting in a Connected World: The Dynamics of Social Media Non-Use in a Platformized Society

This study explored the phenomenon of social media non-use in the current platform-driven media landscape. Through in-depth interviews with young Korean adults in their 20s who have intentionally limited or stopped using Instagram, we examined the motivations, processes, and consequences of social media non-use and its broader implications within a platformized society. The motivations for non-use included multifaceted pressures from both the platform itself and the surrounding culture that promotes connectivity. Despite the strategies for non-use at different levels, participants continuously encountered challenges related to platform-specific resources, user experience, psychological discomfort, and social pressure. These challenges resulted in the renegotiation of disconnective behaviors, making non-use attempts nonlinear and reversible and creating a gap between individuals’ intended outcomes and their actual experiences. We discussed the mechanism of dual ambivalence that creates this cycle of non-use and the situation where non-use becomes captured within the platformization process, thereby being reduced to part of an adaptation process rather than a resistant practice.