( Mashable ) -- In a rather small survey conducted by a young psychologist , Facebook was shown to have some interesting correlations with self-esteem and narcissism in young adults . In a survey of 100 college students , young people with narcissistic personality traits were shown to exhibit Facebook activity that was distinctly more self-promotional . These people had `` About Me '' sections that referred to their intelligence and photos that were more about displaying the user 's physical attractiveness than about capturing memories with friends . Narcissism is defined in the survey , by a researcher at York University in Toronto , Canada , as `` a pervasive pattern of grandiosity , need for admiration and an exaggerated sense of self-importance . '' For the average narcissist , Facebook `` offers a gateway for hundreds of shallow relationships and emotionally detached communication . '' More importantly for this study , social networking in general allows the user a great deal of control over how he or she is presented to and perceived by peers and other users . Mashable.com : Study says social media is for narcissists . The study postulated that narcissists would show more overall Facebook activity than average users and that their activity would be more self-promotional , either descriptively or superficially . The survey 's results showed `` significant positive correlations between narcissism and self-promotional content in the following areas : Main Photo , View Photos , Status Updates and Notes . '' People who scored higher on the study 's narcissism test also spent more time on Facebook and checked it more times each day than their less narcissistic counterparts . Mashable.com : Weekend stories you may have missed . Male narcissists were more self-promotional in their `` About Me '' descriptions , using this section as an opportunity to highlight their intelligence and wit . Female users with narcissistic tendencies tended to use images in their self-promotion , uploading content that `` include [ d ] revealing , flashy and adorned photos of their physical appearance . '' Mashable.com : Older adults nearly double social media presence . The researcher notes that this study is intended to be a preliminary look at nonynous social networking , a fairly new field for academic scrutiny . As we abandon the fake avatars and cryptic usernames of years past and begin associating our online identities with our real-world lives , our online activities begin to have more relevance to our true personality traits . © 2010 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
New study suggests correlations between narcissism and behavior on Facebook in young adults . People who scored higher on narcissism test spent more time on Facebook . Male narcissists were more self-promotional in their `` About Me '' descriptions . Female users with narcissistic tendencies tended to use images in their self-promotion .