(Image from Creative Commons)

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the biggest Facebook addict of them all?

A study released by Toronto’s York University claims that people who use Facebook the most tend to have narcissistic or insecure personalities.

The Canadian study took a sample of 100 Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 25 and reviewed the subjects’ use of the social networking site as well as the content posted on their profiles.

This experiment isn’t the first of its kind.  A 2008 study previously linked Facebook and self-esteem, claiming that untrained observers could detect a person’s narcissism based off of the number of wall posts and Facebook friends the user he or she had.

Reviewing the 2008 study, Physorg.com reported:

“[...] Observers used three characteristics – quantity of social interaction, attractiveness of the individual and the degree of self promotion in the main photo – to form an impression of the individual's personality.

‘People aren't perfect in their assessments,’ [lead study author] Buffardi said, ‘but our results show they're somewhat accurate in their judgments.’”

Researchers evaluated the participants in several ways.  Before examining online profiles, subjects were evaluated using the Narcissism Personality Inventory and measured according to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

Once the scientists obtained the personality readings as a jumping off point, researchers combed the profiles of every participant, looking for signs of “self-promotion.”

Self-promotion is categorized on the school’s website as information used to control or manipulate the perceptions of others toward believing in the subject’s positive qualities.

“We all know people like this,” says Soraya Mehdizadeh, the psychology student running the study. “They’re updating their status every five minutes. They're telling you what celebrity they look like. They're posting pictures of themselves in a bikini."

Now, sure, this all seems a little subjective, and it is; but evaluators carefully scanned each person’s status updates, number of friends, notes, profile photos, “About Me” section, and the first 20 pictures in the “View Photos of Me” section. For 100 people, that’s pretty extensive.

Numerous factors of self-aggrandizement were taken into account.  Postings of complimentary quiz results were common, along with posed facial expressions, posts of celebrity look-alikes, and how much editing was done to pictures posted on the profiles.

Females tended to carefully select and manipulate their photos, while men tended to prefer peppering their profiles with quotes or mottos glorifying themselves.

Mehdizadeh, however, says she is more interested in how Facebook affects those with little or no self-esteem.  She worries that they their reliance on the networking website may be too great.

But could use of the website be a positive thing?

Mehdizadeh said the next question researchers should answer is whether or not websites such as Facebook could be used as a tool to improve one’s self-esteem and overall sense of well-being.

“This sort of finding may have great implications in the lives of the socially anxious or depressed,” she said.

The more comments you have and the more photos you post, the more friends you feel like you have, so it makes sense that Facebook can be seen as resource for validation.

Really, though, the average person knows that’s false—the only friendships that matter have to eventually take place outside of a computer screen.

While the study proves that Facebook more frequently attracts a certain personality type than others, the researchers completely ignore the subsection of people who are on Facebook for the entertainment value, not for personal flattery.

Many people hear breaking news, see Internet memes and view music videos through Facebook, as well as use it as their main source of cultural connection.

The study categorizes Facebook users based on a small subdivision of adults. My question is, can this be applied to every age group in every nation, or is it specific only to that small, randomly selected group?

Trends might be trends, but let’s not forget that there are exceptions to every rule.

To reach reporter Lindy Tolbert, click here.