'I just don't get it I'm afraid,' says comedian who quits microblogging site after less than a month of tweeting

Ricky Gervais has quit Twitter, branding the site "pointless" and the adults who use it "undignified".

Leaving the microblogging site after less than a month of tweeting, he complained that celebrities used it for "showing off" and he did not need to make "new virtual friends".

The comedian and creator of The Office started tweeting on 14 December after Golden Globe bosses told him to promote the awards ceremony, which he is hosting on Sunday. However, after only six tweets he announced he was stopping.

"As you may know I've stopped with Twitter," he wrote on his blog. "I just don't get it I'm afraid. I'm sure it's fun as a networking device for teenagers but there's something a bit undignified about adults using it. Particularly celebrities who seem to be showing off by talking to each other in public.

"If I want to tell a friend, famous or otherwise what I had to eat this morning, I'll text them. And since I don't need to make new virtual friends, it seemed a bit pointless to be honest."

During his brief dabble with Twitter, Gervais amassed more than 13,000 followers.

The site has been popular with celebrities, including Jonathan Ross, Philip Schofield and Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, who have attracted millions of followers.

Gervais is just the latest in a string of famous personalities to stop tweeting. Miley Cyrus posted a rap on YouTube to mark her departure from the site in October, in which she said Twitter should be "banned from this universe".

Stephen Fry, one of the most popular British celebrities on the site, threatened to quit after a fan called his tweets "boring", but then relented. He later said he was taking a break from the site to write his memoirs.