What type of Facebook user are you?

On average, 1.28 billion people check their Facebook every day. That number is nearly 2 billion people every month. And according to a recent estimate, the average Facebook user spends 35 minutes a day on the platform, which is a huge number if you multiply that by the total number of users.

In a recent study published by a trio of communications professors at Brigham Young University (USA) explores why.

“What is it about this social media platform that has taken over the world?” asked Tom Robinson, the study’s lead author. “Why are people willing to put their lives on display on this platform? Has anyone ever really asked the question, ‘Why would you want to do this?’”

Based on several feedback surveys on the topic, the research team identified four types of Facebook users:People who like to bond(relationship builders);village bell(town cries),selfie-taker(Selfies) andobserver(window shoppers).

Relationship builders post and respond to others' posts actively. They use Facebook's additional features primarily to strengthen relationships that exist outside of the virtual world. "They use Facebook as an extension of their real life, with family and real-life friends," Robinson says.

People in this group explicitly identified statements such as “Facebook helps me express love to my family and lets my family express love to me.”

The “town criers,” on the other hand, maintain a much greater distance between their real and virtual worlds. “Uninterested in sharing pictures, stories, or other information about themselves, they want to inform people about what’s going on,” Robinson says. Like the town criers of old, “they want to spread information.” They repost news stories, proclaim events—but they talk less about themselves, preferring to update family and friends through other means.

Selfies use Facebook to promote themselves. Like Connectors, they post photos, videos, and status updates—but unlike Connectors, they focus on getting attention, likes, and comments. Research has shown that the more notifications people receive for likes or comments, the more satisfied they feel. Selfies often use the platform to create an appealing self-image, regardless of whether it’s accurate or not.

The “windows shopper” type is similar to the “village crier” type, they have a need to browse Facebook but rarely post personal information. But unlike the “village crier” type, they browse Facebook because it is a platform where they can see what others are doing, it is a social media with high coverage and many participants. This type of person is identified with statements such as “I can freely look at the Facebook profile of people I am interested in, thanks to which I can know about their interests and relationship status”.

For the study, the researchers compiled a list of 48 statements that identified potential reasons why people use Facebook. The survey participants were asked to answer the questions, reflecting on their personal relationships with the ideas, and then rate each statement on a scale from “most like me” to “least like me.” Finally, the researchers interviewed each participant to gain a deeper understanding of their evaluations.

While previous Facebook-related research has explored the so-called “connector” and “selfie” types, no research has looked at the “crier” and “observer” types, even though they are also very common.

In fact, Facebook users can be identified to some extent as belonging to more than one type. Research shows that most users have at least some selfie tendencies. "Social media is pretty ingrained in our lives these days. And most people don't think about why they want to share it on social media. The bottom line is that if people can recognize their habits, it will at least create some awareness.

According to XHTT