A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

With the digital world, social media has become popular and widely used with people, especially young people. One of the things you should do is to shoot a profile picture for your account. It does not matter whether you use Facebook where you can socialise 1............... your friends or find your friends that you have lost touch 2..............., make friends with people that you have interests 3............... common with or LinkedIn where you can look 4............... job opportunities. However, experts claim it does matter to choose the right profile picture for the social media you are using because apart from people who are always there 5............... you and have got to know you for you for a long time, many other people will probably have a look 6............... your photo and get their first impression of you.

A study from the University of Pennsylvania reveals what your Facebook profile picture says about you, and your personality. Are you an extravert, conscientious, neurotic or agreeable? Researchers suggest that your profile picture tells a lot about your personality after analysing thousands of Twitter users’ pictures.

They have analyzed them into 4 categories;

* If you see a profile picture with a lot of people enjoying a selfie, they are extraverts because “Extraverts enjoy interacting with others, have high group visibility and are perceived as energetic. This could lead to extraverts using profile pictures involving other people or where they express more positive emotions,” states the study titled Analyzing Personality through Social Media Profile Picture Choice.

* If you see a frontal photo as a profile picture, they are conscientious. These people prefer doing what is expected from them and tend to behave according to the norms or social rules.

* If you see a bright big face with an unusual pose and with high contrast in frame, they are open to new things. This means they want to experience new thing and are always open- minded.

* If you see a really poor picture but with a smiling face, it means they are quiet agreeable people. They like harmony and cooperation in their life.

The next time you upload a photo for your social network, be aware what people will think of you.