Let us decode, what type of Facebook user are you? A must-read

Researchers at the Brigham Young University have found that there are four different types of Facebook users.

First Published Sep 11, 2020, 5:34 PM IST

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In the past few years, Facebook has become a big part of people’s lives. It’s no longer a website on which people keep in touch. Rather, it has become a place where news gets shared, debates rage and selfies appear more than five times on a person’s newsfeed. It was at this point that a group of researchers from Brigham Young University decided to conduct a study on Facebook users.

During their study, they found that people use the website for 35 minutes a day and can be broadly classified under four categories- the relationship builders, town criers, selfies and window shoppers.

Relationship Builders

People who fall under this category use Facebook to further their personal relationships. They comment and use additional features on the website to express their emotions. The study’s lead author Tom Robinson noted that these people see Facebook as an extension of their real life. They agreed with statements like, “Facebook helps me to express love to my family and lets my family express love to me.”

Town Criers

Some people share the news of the day, events across the world and spark debates. These people are defined as the town criers. Their profile page rarely has anything personal. Instead, they like to pass on information.

Selfies

Selfies usually post several pictures, text messages and spread information about their personal life. They are a bit like relationship builders. However, they use it gratify themselves. They connected more with the statement, “The more 'like' notification alarms I receive, the more I feel approved by my peers.” The study’s co-author Kris Boyle said these people use the platform to project an image of themselves.

Window Shoppers

These are otherwise known as people watchers. They use Facebook to find out more about people in their life, find out their interests or their crushes. They identified with statements like, “I can freely look at the Facebook profile of someone I have a crush on and know their interests and relationship status.”

For the study, researchers recorded 48 statements and interviewed participants. Robinson said people identified themselves with more than one type of user. “Everybody we've talked to will say, 'I'm part of this and part of this, but I'm mostly this,” Robinson said.