The Death of the Status Update: Why 55% of Americans Stopped Posting on Social Media

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The Death of the Status Update: Why 55% of Americans Stopped Posting on Social Media

Updated Jul 11, 2026

If scrolling feels more exhausting than entertaining, you're not alone. I feel the same way, and a recent study backs up the sentiment: Social media is losing its fun factor.

Neil J. Rubenking<br>Principal Writer, Security

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Table of ContentsCompare Specs: Our Picks Side by SideWhy Incogni Took a Closer Look at Social MediaWho Took the Survey?Social Media Feels More Like Work Than FunWhy People Want to Quit—But Don'tWhat Would Finally Make You Delete Your Account?

I'll admit it—I'm a boomer. And I still use social media the way many people originally imagined it: as a way to stay connected. My feeds have always been a mix of far-flung relatives, old friends, and high school band chums (because, let’s be honest, band buddies are the best buddies). Most days, I carve out a little time after work to catch up with the people who matter.But somewhere along the way, that simple ritual changed. The algorithms started filling my feed with so much irrelevant content, sponsored posts, and suggested videos that the updates from actual friends were getting buried. I eventually developed a workaround: I'd hold my hand over the screen, covering everything except the name of the person or group that posted. If it wasn't from a real human connection, I kept scrolling.Eventually, I left almost all my groups behind, keeping only the ones tied to genuine relationships. And as it turns out, I may have been ahead of a much bigger shift. A new study from Incogni suggests that millions of Americans are rethinking how they use social media—and many are choosing to post less, share less, and step back from the noise.Why Incogni Took a Closer Look at Social Media<br>Incogni is a personal data removal service that spun off from the well-regarded Surfshark VPN in 2022. The Incogni app, a PCMag Editors’ Choice winner, scans hundreds of people-search websites and personal data aggregators and automates the process of opting your data out of their collections. It’s a never-ending battle, since the brokers constantly scrape publicly available information from the web to build more profiles.Social media provides a major source of raw data for these aggregators. If you broadcast your thoughts on X/Twitter, send your Instagram reels out for the world to love, or leave your Facebook profile open to public view, you’re handing the brokers a delicious smörgåsbord of personal information. It’s only natural that Incogni’s researchers would take an interest in this ongoing leakage of personal data.Who Took the Survey?<br>While anyone in the world can be the victim of personal data harvesting by brokers and aggregators, Americans are by far the most affected. According to Incogni, Canada and the Netherlands rank second and third, but America, with millions of netizens and few data protection controls, ranks first.That being the case, it’s not surprising that Incogni turned to the US market for this survey. It used a statistically balanced sample of 1,000 Americans, dividing the results into four groups: Boomers (1946-1964), Gen X (1965-1980), Gen Y (1981-1996), and Gen Z (1997-2012). The respondent pool was also balanced geographically, and the study took place from June 1 through 9, 2026.Social Media Feels More Like Work Than Fun<br>I mentioned earlier that I like to check my socials after work. The last thing I’d want is for doing so to be...just more work. And yet, more than half of respondents agreed with the statement “Maintaining an online presence feels like work,” with about a third of those checking the “strongly agree” box. Only 16% disagreed, with the rest remaining neutral.For some influencers and aspiring influencers, maintaining a social presence truly is their work. But that’s not me, nor (probably) you. If it feels like work rather than fun, you’re doing it wrong.Recommended by Our Editors

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(Credit: Incogni)As the chart shows, there’s also a clear correlation with age. A full 60% of Gen Z respondents feel the pain of maintaining a social presence. Perhaps they have a niggling hope that they might still be discovered as an influencer? Those of us in the Boomer category are clearly more relaxed about it, with...