Social media personas and behaviors

When I created my personal social media profile in 2008, I was ”faceless” – no profile picture, no personal information. One of the first people I added as a ”friend” back then repeatedly encouraged me to add a photo of myself. I did, eventually. The Facebook machine had swallowed me and there was no point of return.

I’ve never posted daily or a few times per day. Not because I had nothing to say. I always have something to say, the question is why should I. Hygiene of sharing is important, methinks. Everyone is free to publish whatever they want, but some consideration is always a good idea. Nowadays I use Facebook solely to check on topics I am passionate about, to follow people I consider inspiring, and to keep in touch with people who I live apart from.

During my 11-year networking I have noticed certain Facebook personas and behaviors that need a special praise:

 

The person whom you haven’t heard from or who you haven’t seen for years suddenly remembers you. Surprise, surprise!

 

Many grandmas and mothers are on Facebook. The ones who live in the same town as their (grand)kid. Spying around? Never have thought of it!

 

The person who always shares their Facebook Memories, a.k.a. what happened in their lives some moons ago. Exciting?

 

The parent who floods the feed with pictures of their babies/toddlers/older kids. How much is too much? Also, is the kid comfortable with their pics floating around the net?

 

The person who really wants to show their meals to the world. It’s an Asian trend to photograph your food, everyone is Asian today. I mean solidarity here!

 

The fitness geek/guru. Screenshots of how much they’ve run today, yesterday, the week before.

 

The selfie person. In the bathroom, on vacation, anywhere.

 

The spy. Never says/shares/likes anything. But they are there! Hopefully for a good reason.

 

The drama queen/attention seeker. They fed a homeless dog, helped an elderly person, and everyone should know about that; long, heart-wrenching and heroic confessions are the norm.

 

The my-life-is-perfect proclaimer. Always great things happen, everything is perfect, everyone should be jealous of their fabulous life. Great, but is it really perfect?

 

The crybaby. They always whine about something: the weather sucks (it rains then it snows!), the neighbor sucks, the government and life in general suck.

 

The love whisperer. They love their partner SO much! Everyone should be aware of this fact, like, and comment.

 

The words-of-wisdom lover. Positive thinking, encouraging proverbs, you name it.

 

The braggart. They brag about anything and everything, often with live updates.

 

Likes are traded for likes, follows for follows, B-day congratulations for B-day congratulations. No likes, no gain. Hmmm, life is cruel.