Can a person’s personality be defined by social media?

Social media allows us to see and experience things that wouldn’t normally be possible through normal means. We’ve a world of information and different communication channels accessible to us in a number of seconds.

Because of this, we all have online identities on numerous sites where we post up clips and images, comment on events and share our thoughts with everyone we’re connected to. But while we dedicate more and more time to social media, are we at a point where we can assume that these sites provide a reasonable representation of ourselves publicly? And if so, is such an assumption justified? A number of companies reportedly are now using Facebook to vet potential employees but is such a practice fair?

Online persona

The first thing worth pointing out is that social media is, for the most part, a passive medium. Because there’s no physical human contact when you’re using it, it means that there will be a certain level of detachment from those you are communicating with. Because of this we tend to somewhat exaggerate things we do or think to make our posts more interesting or humorous.

This detachment is also the reason why people tend to be more critical online than they would in real life. The people who do this could easily be mild mannered and responsible individuals in real life but since their true identity isn’t public (personal details such as address or phone number isn’t available publicly), they can do this without fear of rebuttal or criticism.

The other difference between saying something controversial online and in person is the speed of a reaction. Many of us would fear an immediate rebuttal by some or many people depending but doing this online means that any responses will be slow and taken in turns since social media has yet to invent an interrupt button.

Also judging someone by their online persona is also sketchy at best. If somebody you know enjoys playing violent videogame or is a fan of horror movies, that doesn’t mean that they’re a violent person. It’s just what they like doing in their spare time.

Similarly, if someone has a few photos of themselves on a night out on their profile, that doesn’t define who they are and could easily be an random event that would never happen again.
Tone and interpretation

On the flip side, another problem is that text is a neutral form of communication so if you’re writing something that is clearly positive or negative, then the tone of your message is open to personal interpretation. Someone can read a statement like ‘Don’t work too hard’ and could either interpret it as a friendly piece of advice or a sarcastic statement.

The writer knows what the tone of the message is since they’re writing it and therefore expects it to be obvious to those viewing the message. Unless the person you’re sending it to knows you, then any part of your message could be interpreted in a number of ways. That doesn’t mean that all misinterpretations are negative but just be prepared for a reaction if it is.

Judging people through social media should be taken with a pinch of salt, unless you actually know the person you’re communicating with. Inevitably the more you write or publish the greater the chances that something like the above will happen, whether it justified or not.