4 Types of Facebook Users. Which One Are You?

Let’s face it, we all use Facebook. Whether to browse news feeds, check up on friends, and post updates, the massive social network is so much more than one thing to its customers.

Now a new study, published in the International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, found researchers could easily categorize users into four broad types: “relationship builders,” “window shoppers,” “town criers,” and “selfies.”

Which one are you? Here’s the breakdown:

Relationship builders: Users who post, respond to others’ posts and use additional Facebook features primarily in an attempt to fortify relationships that exist beyond their virtual world.

“They use it as an extension of their real life, with their family and real-life friends,” said Tom Robinson, lead author on the report.

People who fell into this group related strongly to statements such as “Facebook helps me to express love to my family and lets my family express love to me.”

Town criers: These are the self-styled or professional journalists, activists, and event organizers who see Facebook primarily as a soapbox.

They’re less concerned with sharing posts, photos, and other details on their wall, they instead “want to inform everybody about what’s going on,” Robinson said.

As their name suggests, “they’re pushing out information.” They repost news stories, announce events – but may otherwise neglect their profile pages, preferring to update family and friends through alternative means.

Selfies: Self-promotion is the main priority for this type of Facebook user. Like relationship builders, they post pictures, videos, and text updates – but unlike relationship builders, they’re focused on getting attention, likes, and comments.

Study participants in this category identified strongly with the statement “The more ‘like’ notification alarms I receive, the more I feel approved by my peers.”

Window shoppers: Like town criers, window shoppers feel a strong sense of obligation to be on Facebook but rarely post personal information.

They want to browse and follow along with other people’s activities, in a similar fashion to real-life people watchers.

Window shoppers identified with such statements as “I can freely look at the Facebook profile of someone I have a crush on and know their interests and relationship status.”