Facebook users are not afraid to ‘unfriend’

WASHINGTON – Facebook users are “unfriending” more than ever.

Whatever the reason, a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey shows Facebook users are managing their reputations on social networks by restricting who views their profiles, and they’re getting rid of more “friends” than they have before.

Nearly two-thirds of the people surveyed — 63 percent — say they deleted friends. That’s up from 56 percent three years ago.

Women and younger users tend to unfriend more than others.

About 67 percent of female Facebook users have deleted a person from their network, while 58 percent of male Facebook users have done the same.

And women restrict their profiles so only their friends can see it more than men.

Read the full Pew study.

WTOP’s Veronica Robinson contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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