Negative Network Effects In some situations, more network usage or greater network size can actually decrease the value of the network, leading to negative network effects. Negative network effects can happen in two ways. First, network congestion, where the network becomes less valuable as a result of increased usage-- as with traffic in a road network. Second, network pollution, where the network grows too large and is polluted with unwanted content -- like your grandmother commenting on your party photos on Facebook. Read more about negative network effects 29