4 Things Your Facebook Posts Tell People About Who You Really Are
What would you think of you if you read through your own posts?
Getty People have different levels of comfort zones when it comes to Facebook and other social media.
But you're not just being paranoid if you think what you post says a lot to others about your personality and how secure or insecure you are.
Researchers from Brunel University in the UK published the results of a study titled "The Big Five, self-esteem, and narcissism as predictors of the topics people write about in Facebook status updates" in the scientific journal Personality and Individual Differences.
Through analysis of data they collected from 555 Facebook users in the U.S., the team found that the some specific Facebook practices reveal a good deal of information about your personality.
In particular, there were four patterns found in people's Facebook status updates that researchers were able to link to certain personality traits.
Four Common Facebook Habits And What They Reveal About Your Personality
1. Posting frequent updates Is a sign you are an extrovert.
It doesn't matter whether you typically post something that is important to you or just pictures of the meal you proudly cooked that day.
What it mean as far as personalty is concerned is that if you post frequently about your social activities and daily life, you're likely to be someone who is extroverted.
"These results further confirm that extraverts use Facebook, and specifically status updates, as a tool for social engagement," the researchers stated.
2. People who share posts about intellectual topics tend to be more open individuals.
Those of you who love to use Facebook as a way to gain and share information with others, whether by posting articles, YouTube videos, or opinions you want to discuss, are more likely to be open-minded and willing to learn and/or experience new things.
3. People who mostly post about their own achievements are more likely than others to be narcissistic.
If your feed is mostly filled with your own accomplishments, both big and small, it's a sign you might be using Facebook to gain validation and attention rather than to build a meaningful social network.
On the plus side, if you are posting about your diet and exercise program specifically as a means of self-expression rather than as a way to gain validation, as narcissists post such things purely "to express the personal importance they place on physical appearance."
4. People who post frequent updates about their romantic partner are more likely to have low self-esteem.
You may think posting lots and lots about how much you love your boo is a sign your life is pretty solid, but according to the findings of this study, the opposite is more true.
People who feel the need to post frequent updates about their current romantic partner are actually more likely to have low esteem and to therefore be "chronically fearful of losing their romantic partner."
Nicole Weaver is a love and entertainment writer. Follow her on Twitter.