Our generation is perhaps the first of its kind that is experiencing social media as an integral part of its life. As we lap up technology at an insatiable pace, we have become accustomed to social media as a guilty pleasure in our daily lives. While one can debate the pros and cons of social media to no end, there are a few things that reveal a lot about a person’s mindset, mind space, and phase of life depending on the kind of content they post on their social media handles. Your social media trails, posts, and timelines speak out loud about your social media personality type and may categorize you as one of the five types of social media users as discussed below.
Often, the latent need to pour out one’s feelings on social media may be triggered by a need for attention, need for sympathy, and need for connection, but the question to ask oneself before posting very intimate feelings and the associated triggering incidents on your Facebook or Instagram or WhatsApp or Twitter is, are you really going to receive a real, I repeat, genuine concern, affection or care through the likes that your posts garner? All that attention is going to be transitory and superficial.
What is your social media personality type?
So what is your social media personality type? Let us explore a few quirky behaviours that we have observed on social media and what they say about a person’s persona. And also let us find out who are you on social media based on the following 5 social media personality types:
1. The Exhibitionist
An exhibitionist is a person who changes their display picture every second day. Such behaviour usually screams of attention and the need for attention could be coming from the need to feel good perhaps after a tumultuous relationship. People like to compensate for the loss that they might be experiencing in their personal lives by putting up happy pictures of themselves living up their lives. While there is no harm in posting your happy pictures, the frequency of change of display pics denotes an upheaval in your personal life that needs more serious repair than the change of display pics for the external world, which might be too busy to compliment your picture every now and then!
2. The Ghoster
A person who goes underground by suddenly deleting their social media profile can be called as a ghoster. This again is an extreme step that might span from some serious situation (such as divorce, job loss, grief, etc.) in people’s lives. Whatever the situation one could be going through, surely deleting social media profiles indicates the person does not want to be social anymore, and the intent is to disconnect from their friends. It’s a conscious retreat into one’s own cocoon to cut off their network, possibly to avoid awkward questions about their life situation. Again, my advice for such people is to sort out their life situations and face the world around them. Disconnecting from people isn’t going to give you any respite from your circumstances, and in today’s technology-driven world, you will soon be out of the minds of people once you’re out of sight.
3. The Sympathy Junkie
The person who frequently posts volatile, sentimental posts on their timelines is a sympathy junkie. Again, this is a no-brainer that the person is silently screaming sympathy for a tough relationship conflict they might be going through. This is a situation best resolved with the person who is evoking such emotions inside of you, or within yourself (try meditation, yoga, etc.), or with your innermost circle of family and friends, rather than going public with your most intimate dark feelings with 500 people. Remember, your inner angst is best expressed in your diary and not on Facebook. If anything, it is only going to give your connections fodder for gossip and lead to a grapevine regarding your personal turmoil.
4. The Preacher
The preacher is the person who posts motivational quotes every day on their status. While it’s good to share life wisdom, I would rather prefer that people practice the wisdom they preach to others via their WhatsApp status. Also, excessively idealistic messages on status updates barely leave people with any positive influence, and if that’s the intention, a better idea is to connect with people one-on-one and transmit your positivity. Such people have perhaps read a lot of self-help books, but again, the true barometer of someone being an inspiration is that they’re able to apply the self-help fundamentals in their lives and change the course of their present and future. If that’s the change you wish to create for others, my recommendation is to start with the hardest hurdle, yourself first!
5. The Braggart
Any person who boasts about their life drama, such as anniversary gifts, birthday parties, and vacations, can be called a braggart. There is certainly no harm in sharing snippets of your life with people you consider to be part of your circle, but bombarding people with the so-called happening aspects of your life is again some sort of compensation phenomenon for what is missing in your life. Let’s face it, people only wish to project a positive, glorious side of their lives, and the reality could be starkly different from what we see on their timelines. It again boils down to the need for attention and the need to be a celebrity. Well, I’d say, if you really do need the attention, talk to your spouse, or your parents, or your bestie, and they should be able to provide you with all the love and attention when you do really need that. Such people must stop broadcasting private details of their lives, as we really don’t care what watch or cell phone your hubby or wifey gifted you on your birthday. If you are so touched by the gesture of affection, I’d rather that you be discreet and express your thanks and love in your bedroom than on your timeline!
A person who is secure in himself will most likely not resort to such behaviour on social media, and you will see patterns of consistency in their public and social media demeanour. Just as how we apply discretion in our social, professional, and personal conduct, we should also apply judicious thought in how we express ourselves on social media. Not only is it building our reputation, but it is also an extension of our identities and personalities. So next time you are tempted to post a status update or a forward or a motivational quote, think about the impressions and digital trails you are leaving for others to feed on.
By now, you must understand who you are on social media and must be able to categorize yourself as one of the social media personality types. If you know more types of social media users, do mention the same in the comments section below.
PS: Check out our Youtube Channel for life-changing and inspiring videos.
