What Your Posts On Facebook Say About You

Why do some status updates on Facebook make for funny, personal anecdotes while others explain their love for their partner, express political opinions or provide details about yesterday’s dinner ?

Since the launch of Facebook in 2004, status updates have become one of the most used features. Status updates allow the user to share their thoughts, feelings and activities with friends who then have the opportunity to like, share and comment. But we assume you already know this, so let’s move on to the more interesting.

Despite the central role that status updates have in the use of Facebook , few studies have examined the pattern in the themes that people choose to post. One study took a step in this direction by examining personality traits associated with frequent updates of these four themes:

1. Social activities and daily life

2. Intellectual activities

3. Success, diet and exercise

4. Significant relationships

The study also examined whether these correlations were mediated by the motives for using Facebook, such as the need for confirmation (seeking attention and acceptance), to express oneself (to express personal opinions, tell stories, complain, etc.), communication (correspondence and interconnection) and sharing non-personal information (such as current events).

Another purpose of the study was to investigate whether people who post more frequently on certain topics received a greater number of likes and comments on their posts.

Those who received many likes and comments enjoyed the benefits of feeling social inclusion, while those who did not experienced a lower sense of belonging and self-confidence.

Narcissistic posts

People who habitually post on Facebook about their diets, exercise and success are more likely narcissistic according to the study. On the other hand, showing off success seems to attract more attention from our virtual “friends”.

For users of Facebook, it seems that narcissistic displays are worth it because they attract more likes and comments on their posts. However, the results of the study suggest that our friends secretly feel a certain distaste for such self-preoccupation, even though they offer friendly support.

More associations between personality and Facebook use

The study revealed more correlations between personality and Facebook use:

• People who post about their love partner are more likely to suffer from lower self-esteem compared to those who do not.

• People who are more self-aware and who have children tend to make more posts about their children.
• People who are extroverts make frequent posts about their social activities and daily life.
• People who are restless and eager to open up and communicate make more posts about intellectual themes.

We will end this article with two interesting points. First and foremost , advertising is increasingly focused on the pages we visit and the content we post on social networks. What we share on social media offers an insight for companies trying to reach potential customers.

Furthermore, another pilot study suggests that in the future we will somehow be able to continue communicating with people who are no longer alive thanks to the information they have already shared. Thanks to some algorithms, it is believed that this information can be used to create a computerized profile that communicates in a way that is very similar to that of the deceased person. Can you imagine this? What do you think of this opportunity?