HOUSTON, TX—
Are you a Facebook user?If so, listen up.
Your Facebook profile can be used to determine your personality.
Think that`s not a big deal?
The University of Maryland did a study profiling 300 people`s FB pages.
Later these same 300 took a standard personality test.
Nothing fancy, the same test any potential employer might give a candidate.
Their results were almost identical.
The research geeks were able to predict the score on a personality test to within ten percentage points- just by using words posted on their Facebook page.
Good news for the business world.
This test is a cheap, easy way to bypass interviewing a potential candidate...then having to test them.
People who tested as 'Extroverts' had more 'friends' but sparser networks- meaning their friends didn`t know each other.
People who tested as 'Neurotic' may have a lower 'friend' count but their friends tended to know each other and have similar interests.
'Neurotics' tended to use anxiety-type words like 'worried' 'fearful' and 'nervous' on their posts.
Critics of the study say you can`t use Facebook as a guide.
They're claiming people are prone to exaggeration when using social media.
Either way, if you are using Facebook be advised that whoever you 'friend' could be profiling you.
