IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2018 - 44

on breaking news and events of interest." Another response
that was similarly aligned:

rarely watch TV"; and "Facebook is an addiction,
simply an everyday thing."

"Facebook is a news source for me. You find out
about things happening in cities that won't even
show on the TV news. Also, Facebook is a place to
get information, inspirational stuff and recipes.
Add to that groups which are very useful. You can
connect with like-minded people and with similar
background, communities, and nationalities."

This type of virtual addiction happens to people who
become too reliant on their online identity as described
by Modi and Gandhi [31].

Careers
Facebook value for job related purposes can be clearly seen in a respondent's comment: "The only reason
keeps me using Facebook is the fact that many job
opportunities are posted on it." Another respondent
was also clear in asserting the benefits Facebook provides to users:
"After using Facebook to get a scholarship, and
getting a lot of money after advertising myself as
an Arabic teacher for foreigners in Jordan, I do
not think I will stop using it."
These results agree with Al-Menayes [10] who
showed that information seeking, convenience, and
altruism are among the main motives of using so cial media.

Lack of Alternatives
It is evident that users are aware of the benefits of
Facebook, and some of them even perceive that no
other social media network can compete with Facebook today. This was clear in one of the responses: "I will not quit Facebook, not until we have a
better alternative."

Fear of Lost Connections and Virtual Addiction
Some respondents indicated that it will be difficult for
them to leave Facebook. This was due to two reasons:
First, due to concerns over potential losses:
"I have built a huge social network of relatives and
friends over the past few years using Facebook. It
would very hard to stop using it now,"
a respondent acknowledged. Secondly, some respondents mentioned that they cannot leave Facebook
because they feel they are addicted to it; as illustrated
by two comments:
"I am addicted to Facebook; it keeps me updated
with what is going on around the world since I

Fun
Other responses highlighted the fun factor of Facebook, where one of the respondents focused particularly on the joy Facebook brings to her life: "I read my
friends' posts on Facebook almost every hour. Many
jokes around. So many funny videos." This finding
agrees with Al-Menayes [10] who showed that entertainment is one of the motives for people to use
social media.

Expressing Opinions
Considering Facebook as a platform to express views
and opinions is another reason for people to keep using
Facebook that was clearly seen in a respondent comment:
"I consider Facebook as a platform to share my
opinions and ideas, though sometimes I become
worried since there is no[t] enough freedom
where anything that you write can be legally used
against you."
This finding agrees with Al-Saggaf [32] who showed
that users expressed their feelings, shared their thoughts
and opinions through Facebook.

Inability to Delete Facebook Profile Data
Finally, a respondent stressed out an interesting point
where she mentioned that she cannot truly quit Facebook, even if she wanted so, since its terms and conditions of use do not allow the user to permanently delete
everything about oneself. It is true that stopping the
account of a person on Facebook will not delete the person's messages and photos; such information actually
remains on Facebook servers after account deletion
[33]. One of the respondents was aware of this fact and
stated: "How can I really quit Facebook? My account will
always be there. Facebook will not allow me to delete it
even if I want to, so that is why I keep using it because it
will always be there."

Further Research to Examine
Cultural Factors Needed
A notable scarcity exists in finding studies which examine why people keep using Facebook despite their concerns. This research aims to help this problem.
Forty respondents provided reasons why they keep
using Facebook despite their concerns. The majority of

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

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JUNE 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2018