What Is Your Facebook Personality?

Thanks to Facebook, there's every opportunity to gossip about (or comment online about) your friends most controversial personal situations, their most exciting life events and also their most mundane. Reading through News Feed allows you to see another side to your friends thoughts, personality and private life. One click and you've added someone you once met as a friend. Now, every day for as long as you have your Facebook profile, you have a window into their life.

This may or may not be a good thing, for you cannot judge a book by it's cover. You'll find that one person who always seems to have a happy face in the real world fills your News Feed with whinging and complaining; and the person you've always admired because they seemed to have an exciting life, updates their status every five minutes to tell the world they are brushing their teeth, cleaning the car, cleaning their shoes. All of a sudden they don't seem exciting any more.

So, have you ever thought about what your Facebook personality is? What impression you give your Facebook friends by what you write in your status updates? You may think you're just being yourself, but not everybody knows all about you; some will see you mainly from what you write in your status updates because they are not regularly part of your life in the real world (Or outside of your work environment).

Before you take an objective look at your status updates on the Wall of your profile page here are some Facebook personality types I've discovered amongst my own friends which you can share and compare, or even just laugh about!

• "STALK ME!" PERSONALITY

This is the friend who has just checked in to their local grocery store, the train station, their grandmothers house and McDonald's - All in one day. It's like they're asking for someone to follow them everywhere they go. They will also tag whoever they are with at each destination, so you can all be found wherever you go with this friend, if someone ever wanted to find you...

• "SAD CASE" PERSONALITY

It seems like every time you view your News Feed this one friend has something bad to say about their life. Usually their love life, the price of petrol and something that's wrong with where they live (If you're sad use a tissue not your Facebook status!).

• "EVERYTHING I DO SHOULD INTEREST YOU!" PERSONALITY

This is the friend who feels the need to tell you what time they woke up, what they ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert etc. They will also take photos of some of these 'events' and maybe even let you know they've checked in to their own bed. Their status updates get so boring you regret adding them as a friend and consider hiding their status updates from your News Feed.

• "I BIGHT!" PERSONALITY

This is the 'loose cannon' on your friends list. Most likely to go out of their way to upload embarrassing photos of you, even from your childhood and tag you just to humiliate you. They will also use their status updates to address perceived gossip about their life, and will make controversial comments on their Facebook friends status. Possible self esteem issues!

• "ATTENTION SEEKER" PERSONALITY

Will write cryptic status updates with the intention to attract attention to their mysterious problems. Will not name people or situations as wants you to comment on their status to ask "What's wrong" etc. May also take posed photos of themselves. Usually has over 500 Facebook friends. (No-one needs to take photos of themselves for Facebook when they have over 500 friends!).

• "LURKER" PERSONALITY

Has rarely, if ever, updated their status, but will comment on the status of others regularly. Saves ex boyfriends or girlfriends as a Favourite on their home computer and regularly visits their profiles, but does not add them as a Facebook friend. May or may not have a photo of their self on their profile (Could use a photo of an animal or a cartoon instead). Happy to know your business but doesn't really want you to know about theirs.

• "MIDLIFE CRISIS" PERSONALITY

You notice this friend is adding Facebook friends who attended the same school as them. They are not necessarily anyone this friend spoke to at school. They will also add your friends and family as friends even if they have only met them once. It's like they are trying to reconnect with their long lost past. Probably doesn't get out much.

• "JUST LOOK AT ME" PERSONALITY

This friend is either barely clothed or barely sober in any of their profile photos. Girls will upload photos regularly showing off their cleavage, and guys will upload shirtless photos. Always up to something fun or mischievous. Will give you a laugh every now and then.

• "ON HOLIDAY" PERSONALITY

This friend seems to have the exciting life, always off travelling somewhere new, or making plans to do so, or uploading holiday photos. Or maybe they just take a camera with them everywhere they go!

• "SO LOVED UP" PERSONALITY

All of this friends status updates revolve around their happy love life. Be envious.

• "VENTING" PERSONALITY

This friends status make them seem like a bored housewife! Their updates are usually about whether or not they should do housework, the dinner menu, what the husband won't do around the house and the "annoying" kids. Who's interested in hearing that?

So maybe you were having a bad day yesterday and the day before and the day before that too, but maybe it's not necessary to fill all of your friends News Feed with the dreaded details, which are of no benefit to them.

In any case, Facebook is meant to be a fun way to keep in touch with others and it's good idea to regularly have an objective look at what information you decide to share with others and consider what impression they may have of you when they are reading their own News Feeds.