Facebook is an ideal environment for studying human behavior. Every click, like, friend acceptance (or rejection), and peek at an ex’s profile is tracked for millions of people every day. Back in 2007, the New York Times reported on Facebook’s value as a “petri dish for the social sciences.”
That was more than five years ago. So what have we learned since? Here’s a collection of some of the insights from academic researchers and social scientists who’ve lurked on the social network for professional purposes.
1. Young narcissists tweet. Middle aged narcissists do status updates.(2013 study via Jeff Bercovici)
2. Looking at your Facebook profile is an excellent way to boost your self-esteem… (2012 study via Medical Express)
3. … But is also an excellent way to sap your motivation to get sh** done. (same study)
4. The more Facebook friends a teenager has, the more privacy promiscuous he or she is. (2013 survey)
5. It’s like, totally, Stressbook for teens. (2013 survey via Slate)
6. It’s scientifically proven that Facebook’s privacy settings are confusing. (2011 study via Huffington Post)
7. The chances of your “anonymous” dating site profile getting linked to your Facebook profile may be as good as your chances of getting lucky there, thanks to facial recognition. (2012 presentation and 2012 study)
8. Forget “six degrees of separation.” We’re now linked to just about anyone else by a messy 4.74 people. (2011 article)
9. Your Facebook friend list will reveal you’re gay… (2009 study)
10. …So will your Facebook “likes.” They may also reveal your political leanings, your religion, your ethnicity. It turns out we are what we like. (2013 study via Anthony Kosner)
11. Eating fries isn’t terribly healthy but liking curly ones on Facebook suggests high intelligence. (same study)
12. Drug abstainers will drink your milkshake; they will drink it up. (same study)
13. Beware the ennui of Stewie Griffin-lovers. People who like the littlest Family Guy are likely to be “dissatisfied with life.” (same study)
14. Surprise, surprise: A site designed to get you to share stuff gets you to share stuff. We are programmable. (2013 article)
15. Stuff White People Like On Facebook: other white people. (2008 study)
16. Forget LinkedIn. Facebook can tell you if someone is worth hiring. (2012 study via article)
17. Honesty is the best policy… on social media sites while job searching. (2011 survey)
18. Those people who are venting all of their emotions on Facebook are probably as unstable as they seem. But it does help them feel better. (2012 study)
19. Big networks are great but it’s the really good friends who got your back. Close friends are more likely to help you find a job. (2013 Facebook study)
20. If the NSA sends you a friend request, it’s a bad idea to accept. (2010 academic paper)
21. Need to chill out? Facebook-stalk yourself. Looking at heavily-curated, best versions of our digital selves makes us feel better about our lives. (2013 study)
22. …Just don’t look at other people’s vacation photos while you’re on the site. Seeing your friends in beautiful places will send you to an unhappy one. Discontent lies in comparing yourself with the heavily-curated versions of others. (2013 article)
23. Our digital selves are not as divorced from our real selves as some would have you believe. For example, we like our friends just as much online as offline… (2013 article)
24. … and people who talk about politics online like to be involved in politics offline. (2009 study)
25. College students prefer befriending people who like the same music and movies as them. But they don’t care what they read. (2012 study)
26. Classical and jazz music are the only contagious “likes” among college students, probably because we’re cultural elitists. (same study)
27. It’s hard to hide the fact that when you say you’re doing a study on a bunch of “anonymous” students from an “anonymous” college that got on Facebook early, you’re actually talking about Harvard kids. (2011 article)
28. Caring about privacy is contagious. (2008 study)
29. Using Facebook and texting while doing schoolwork hurts a college kid’s GPA… (2011 study)
30. … or maybe not. (2012 study)
31. People can talk politics online without completely losing it. (2009 study)
32. People who live in battleground states actually care what happens in their races. (2012 study)
34. Social media peer pressure also works when it comes to “Likes.” (2010 study)
35. Chick-fil-A, rest assured. People who “like” brands are more likely to forgive and forget when those brands screw up. (2012 study)
36. Facebook helped Occupy with recruiting. Yes, there’s a study about this. And yes, in fact, social networks are helpful for social organizing. (2011 study)
37. Facebook is like a spiderweb: the more tendrils you send out, the more connected you feel. (2011 study)
38. Despite Facebook, kids still do care about privacy. (2011 study)
39. High school spirit is strong on the social network. (2011 study)
40. Free apps have strings attached. You might add a movie info app, for example, without realizing you’re signing up for a study that evaluates the influence you have on your friends by randomly spamming them. Lesson learned: you have an outsized influence on people with whom you went to college but not on people with whom you’re tagged in photos. (2013 study)
41. Shocker: People who are conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable are less likely to post Facebook status updates about sex and drugs. (2010 study)
42. U.S. college students must be less conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable than German students. (same study)
43. Parents teach their Facebook-loving children that it’s okay to lie. (2011 study via NYT)
44. News flash: we turn to Facebook for entertainment. (2012 article)
45. There is such a thing as a Facebook vacation, and more than half of us take them. (2013 survey via NYT)
46. How to lose friends and bore people: choose polarizing or trivial topics of conversation. (2010 study)
Did I miss your favorite (or least favorite) study? Leave it in the comments.
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