A recent study has shown that online social networking sites (Facebook, in particular) reflect users’ actual personalities, not self-idealisation. The paper (published in the journal Psychological Science) suggests that people do not use their online social networking profiles to promote an idealised virtual identity; but instead use them as a platform in which to express and communicate their real personality authentically (Back et al., 2010).
When it comes to online social networking sites, it really does hold that:
(Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crispy_chips/3811677140/)
So, what does this mean for marketing and marketers?