ARE you a Facebook user with a large number of Facebook friends and a packed activity feed? If so, chances are you are a narcissist, according to a University of Georgia study.
Narcissists are people with an inflated sense of self-importance.
For the study, psychology researchers Laura Buffardi, a doctoral student, and associate professor W. Keith Campbell surveyed 130 Facebook users and analysed their Facebook pages.
They also roped in lay observers, who were shown Facebook profiles and asked to point out which ones belonged to people whom they considered narcissists.
The findings, which will appear next month in the academic journal Personality And Social Psychology Bulletin, suggested that the number of Facebook friends and wall posts one has correlates to narcissism.
Facebook usage that tends towards self-promotion, with an emphasis towards friend quantity rather than quality, are markers for narcissism, according to Prof Campbell.
Ms Buffardi said this was similar to how narcissists behave in the real world, forming numerous but shallow relationships with others.
So what if you have many friends but would rather not be taken as narcissistic by strangers surfing your profile?
The study suggests you choose poorly-lit candid shots over fancy professionally-taken snaps for your profile photo.
For the lay strangers employed in the survey, "the impression of narcissism is based primarily on the number of social interactions, along with the extent to which the Web-page owner appears to be self-promoting and attractive in his or her main photo".
