Did you ever wonder why there are those who use Facebook as an online photo album, posting a selfie or a photo of just about anything they can think of, while there are those who use the social media site strictly for sharing political news, or a review of a recent book they have finished? Apparently, Science has just had a deep look at what people post on their Facebook accounts and what these posts say about them.
A recent study from Brunel University London may just have the explanation for this. The study involved 555 Facebook users who were asked to accomplish an online survey with the goal of measuring the "Big Five" personality traits: extroversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Analysis for self-esteem and narcissism was also included, foxnews.com reports.
The study revealed the correlation of the person's personality trait to their choice of things they share on the 1.44-billion-member social media site.
For instance, extroverts displayed the tendency of frequently posting about social events and mainly use the site for socializing, foxnews.com cites The Independent.
Meanwhile, people with conscientious personality are drawn to posting about their children, suggesting "perhaps such updates reflect an indirect form of competitive parenting", independent.co.uk reports about the study.
In the same report, those with neurotic personalities tend to use Facebook for personal status updates more often than not about their relationships with the study suggesting that such behavior is a cry for "validation".
Individuals deemed to have open personalities, on the other hand, were not likely to share personal information and instead are on the site for "events, research, or their political views".
Those having problems with self-esteem are likely to post more about their romantic partners and the study suggests "people are more likely to post relationship-relevant information on Facebook on days when they feel insecure," adding it was "reasonable" to assume they did so as a way to "claim" their relationship.
Finally, the study concluded that those who are inclined to "broadcast their diet and exercise routine to express the personal importance they place on physical appearance" are those who have narcissistic personalities.
Author of The Bitch In Your Head, Jacqueline Hornor Plumez, PhD in this report tells Yahoo! that Facebook and other social media sites, while interesting in terms of keeping up to date with what people are up to, should not be used to fix lack of self-esteem. "One of the famous psychologists named Alfred Adler said that mental health is a combination of self-esteem and altruism," she says. "If you just try to get your self-esteem by somehow feeling superior, it isn't going to feel good. You have to have that connection of caring about other people. And I think that Facebook, while it appears to be connecting everybody, can be isolating."
