People turn to social media trying to show off to their friends, to gather as many "likes" as they can and to feel good about themselves. However, in this quest for social affirmation, people are playing with the truth and beautifying their lives.
Kaspersky Lab's new research reveals that one out of ten modifies the truth in social media looking for more "likes" in its posts. Research also reveals that at the altar of "likes" men are more likely to post their personal information than women. One in ten (9%) would post a personal naked photo compared to just 5% of women. Also, 13% of men would post a photo of a friend wearing something revealing.
To pull her caution and to secure a significant number of "likes", about one in ten (12%) pretend to be "somewhere" or doing "something", which may not be entirely true. For men, this figure rises to 14%, which indicates that many would rather attract the attention of others on social media than share a realistic portrayal of their lives.
Research reveals that men are sensitive about the number of "likes" they gather in social media. Indeed, for the sake of likes, men are more willing than women to reveal something embarrassing or confidential to their partners, friends or employers. So, 14% of men say it would reveal something confidential for a partner compared to 7% of women, 13% is willing to post something confidential to its employer, and 12% would reveal something embarrassing to a friend of his compared to 6% of women.
Men also get upset if they don't get the likes they want. 24% of men are worried about being "liked" on publications they are few and considered unpopular by their friends compared to 17% of women. Additionally, 29% of men admit to getting angry if someone important to them doesn't like their posts.
In the hunt for "likes", men tend to present themselves and their friends in a more "dangerous" light, which, according to Dr. Astrid Carolus, Media Psychologist at University of Würzburg, "is in line with the assumption that men are less focused on social harmony and are rather more willing to take risks." Thus, 15% of men revealed that they would post a photo of friends under the influence of alcohol compared to 8% of women, 12% would post a photo of them in revealing clothing, and 9% of men are ready to post even a nude photo of him compared to just 5% of women.
Evgeny Chereshnev, head of Social Media at Kaspersky Lab, agrees, but warns that this dangerous behavior in social media can put people at risk. "In their attempt to find social approval, people have stopped seeing the boundaries between what is right to share and what is best to keep private." commented. And he continued, "But it is important to protect ourselves as well as the privacy of others.
Research shows that 58% of people feel uncomfortable and upset when their friends post photos of themselves that they don't want to be seen. Overall, people need to be more informed, understand the information they share on social media and install software security on their devices to protect themselves and their loved ones from digital threats."
