Facebook statuses can reveal narcissism or low self-esteem.
People often write Facebook statuses about everything – from their daily runs or workouts to their diets and successes. According to a new study led by psychologist Tara Marshall, individuals who frequently post about their achievements are more likely to become narcissistic personalities. The tendency to brag about one’s successes often attracts attention from Facebook friends.
Facebookové statusy dokážu odhaliť narcizmus či nízku sebaúctu.
Tara Marshall says, “Although our results suggest that narcissistic self-promotion pays off for individuals in terms of greater likes and comments to their status updates, it could be that Facebook friends are positively supporting these individuals in a very cultivated way, despite actually disliking the egotistical content. Greater awareness of how one’s status updates might be perceived by friends could help individuals to avoid topics that might annoy rather than amuse their friends on Facebook.”
The study also found that individuals who frequently post status updates about their current romantic partner tend to have lower self-esteem.
Individuals who are more caring and conscientious tend to post more status updates about their children.
The study also revealed differences between personality and status update usage.
“…. extroverts tend to post more about their social activities and daily life as a means of communication and connection with others. People who are more open and sincere tend to write about intellectual topics that are in line with using Facebook as a tool for sharing information.”
These conclusions were drawn from a sample of 555 users of this social network.
Psychologist Marshall also states: “It may be a little surprising for some that Facebook can reveal our personality traits. However, it is important to understand why people write certain statuses and why they choose certain topics. Posting statuses results in “rewarding” with various numbers of likes or comments from all of us – users. People who get more likes and comments tend to experience the benefits of social inclusion (acceptance), while those who get none may feel excluded or marginalized from society.”
This study was published in 2015 in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.