February 14, 2019

Matthew Rousu, dean of the Sigmund Weis School of Business, recently received a Washington Post Albie Award for his co-authored research, How much is social media worth? Estimating the value of Facebook by paying users to stop using it.

The study found that Facebook users required an average of more than $1,000 to deactivate their accounts for one year. The study appeared recently in PLOS ONE, a journal published by the Public Library of Science, based in San Francisco, Calif.

Rousu’s research was selected by Daniel W. Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The “Albies” are named for the late political economist Albert O. Hirschman and are awarded for the best writing on political economy.

A complete list of winners is available here.