By IMAGE
26th May 2015
26th May 2015
Exercise
Prepare to rethink your next Facebook status update. A new study has sought to discover what your Facebook status really says about you. Are you insecure in your relationship if you post about it often? Are those ‘likes’ really genuine? For those who suffer a bad case of ‘FOMO’ when their pals gloat about their latest crazy adventures, this might make you feel a little better.
According to new online research from the folk at Brunel University, London, both the subject matter and frequency of your updates can say a lot about your personality. The two main take aways from their research is that those who post often about their relationship are most likely to have low self-esteem while those who take to Facebook to brag about their latest gym sessions are naturally more narcissistic.
The researchers asked 555 people to take an online survey that would measure the ‘Big Five’ personality traits: extroversion, openness, neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness. If you’re wondering whether you fall under the narcissistic umbrella, you’ll be more likely to update your ‘friends’ on your latest achievements. This will be motivated by your “need for attention and validation from the Facebook community.” Narcissists, they discovered, are also more likely to write about their diet and their latest exercise regime.
A video posted by Millie Mackintosh (@camillamackintosh) on
Elsewhere, conscientiousness was associated with writing more updates about one’s children.
“It might come as little surprise that Facebook status updates reflect people’s personality traits… However, it is important to understand why people write about certain topics on Facebook because their updates may be differentially rewarded with likes and comments… People who receive more likes and comments tend to experience the benefits of social inclusion, whereas those who receive none feel ostracised.” – Psychology lecturer Dr Tara Marshall.
*Checks last Facebook status update and panics*…
Also Read
