ReputationDefender Blog recently ran across this physorg article that identifies narcissistic online profiles, as well as the emerging field of online psychology. The article quotes a recent University of Georgia study that looked at Facebook profiles.

The researchers found that the number of Facebook friends and wallposts that individuals have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism. Buffardi said this is consistent with how narcissists behave in the real-world, with numerous yet shallow relationships. Narcissists are also more likely to choose glamorous, self-promoting pictures for their main profile photos, she said, while others are more likely to use snapshots.

Untrained observers were able to detect narcissism, too. The researchers found that the observers used three characteristics – quantity of social interaction, attractiveness of the individual and the degree of self promotion in the main photo – to form an impression of the individual’s personality. “People aren’t perfect in their assessments,” Buffardi said, “but our results show they’re somewhat accurate in their judgments.”

Narcissism is a trait of particular interest, Campbell said, because it hampers the ability form healthy, long-term relationships. “Narcissists might initially be seen as charming, but they end up using people for their own advantage,” Campbell said. “They hurt the people around them and they hurt themselves in the long run.”

[SNIP]

“We’ve undergone a social change in the last four or five years and now almost every student manages their relationships through Facebook – something that few older people do,” Campbell said. “It’s a completely new social world that we’re just beginning to understand.” 

It is clear that people develop a reputation online based on where they post, who they poke and how they present themselves. It is interesting that even untrained observers were able to identify narcissists by looking at their Facebook profiles. This shows that while online psychology and sociology are incipient sciences, people are easily able to understand social and psychological cues online.

ReputationDefender wants to see how zombie bites relate to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator results.

Bookmark It