Know someone on Facebook who updates their status every half an hour, likes approximately two thousand corporate pages, and won’t stop poking you? It’s okay, they’re probably miserable and depressed.
In a study published in Computers and Human Behaviour, researchers Facebook uses who describe themselves as “lonely” are more likely to be over-sharers. The study surveyed six hundred women. Of the self-described “lonely”, seventy-nine per cent disclosed more personal information than other users—even relatively benign stuff, like favourite books, movies, and bands.
More tellingly, a ninety-eight per cent of the “lonely” Facebookers disclose their relationship status, whereas other users are more likely to keep that information limited. According to author Yeslam Al-Saggaf, “It makes sense that the people who felt lonely would disclose this type of information. They want to make it easier for others to initiate contact with them, which may help them overcome their feelings of loneliness.”
