What keeps people on Facebook?

A decade ago, Anne Helen Petersen started a Facebook page for her WordPress blog. It eventually grew to 44,000 members. Surprisingly, It never turned toxic, but upon reflection of the wider online community’s toxicity, it was time to leave. 

In this instalment of Culture Study, she analyses why millions of users are tethered to a space that many of them despise.

Marni Penning

Anne Helen Petersen is a journalist and author of four books, including the forthcoming "Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working From Home."

Anne Helen Petersen

A weekly newsletter from journalist and author Anne Helen Petersen.

The name “Culture Study” is a modification of “Cultural Studies,” a term used to describe an academic field — and general posture — towards the culture that surrounds us. The scholars of this early field believed that if people found meaning or pleasure in a cultural object, no matter how high or low brow, it was worth thinking about.

This party sucks, why haven't we left?