What These Social Media Habits Reveal About Your Personality

Even before the rise of Facebook, people used the internet as a tool for self-expression.

However, over the years, this trend has exploded; more than two-thirds of American adults now have a Facebook account, and 74% of all Facebook users say they visit the site daily, with about half stating they make multiple visits. And it’s not just Facebook, either: about six of every ten Instagram and Snapchat users report daily application use as well. With the high rate of use these applications now see, psychologists have begun to notice certain patterns of behavior and possible signs of personality disorders associated with them as well.

A common social media habit that has received attention from researchers is the obsession with taking and posting selfies. To clarify, selfies can include either the user by themselves or the individual along with one or more persons. A German research study found that women tend to post more selfies than men, and there was also a positive correlation observed between the number of selfies posted online and the level of extroversion and exhibitionism. Another study done at the City University of New York showed higher levels of narcissism associated with men who frequently posted selfies. However, other scientific research has connected narcissism with both men and women who post a greater number of selfies. So, those who are obsessed with taking pictures of themselves and posting them on social media are considered either very confident extroverts with possible attention needs or they could have narcissistic personality disorder.

Read on to learn more about what your social media habits say about your mental and emotional health.