Mark Zuckerberg Disgusted With Social Media; Set To Leave Facebook Later This Year

(ET, Wednesday, April 19, 2017) - Mark Zuckerberg helped to create a whole new world when he unveiled Facebook in 2004. Barely 20 years old, the fresh faced college student knew he had something special with his technological find. But even this genius had no way to predict how Facebook would change the world.

Now, just 17 years later, this 32-year-old billionaire is ready to give it all up? Why? According to those closest to the developer, Zuckerberg is disgusted with the way the public has used and abused the platform. “He wanted to create a way for people to connect; not tear them apart,” explained one colleague.

Since its inception, Facebook has enjoyed a wild ride of success. With more than 1.2 billion people logging on every single day, one would think that Zuckerberg fulfilled his dream of global connection. But, according to friends and coworkers, that wasn’t at all what Zuckerberg had in mind when he and a group of friends built the concept (and the reality) of the famous site back in their Harvard dormitory.

“What Mark wanted most was to bring the world together. It’s not good enough if it brings along some people and leaves others behind.” And when it comes to using the platform he created to bully or disparage others, Zuckerberg is completely disgusted. “He hates the way some users utilize the platform to bring others down or even to circulate false accounts of events or history.”

While Facebook itself begins a new chapter in harnessing its platform for the betterment of society, focusing on remaking the site in order to offer global connectedness while fighting isolationism and social ills. Although a manifesto recently released by Zuckerberg himself outlines a long-term plan by his company to revamp the site and “focus on social infrastructure for the community for supporting us, for keeping us safe, for informing us, for civic engagement, and for inclusion of all,” many behind the scenes say that the Facebook founder has no intention of being a part of the changes and will announce his exit from Facebook in the coming months.


Since marrying wife Priscilla Chan M.D., in 2012, Zuckerberg has discovered a new passion: for eradicating disease and living a healthier lifestyle. A pediatrician who specializes in childhood disease, Chan convinced her husband last year to fund the Chan-Zuckerberg initiative, whose main focus is health and education. The initiative has also cited a long-term goal of working towards eradicating all disease by the end of the 21st century.