 Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back to another brand new video. Standing on the counter in your bathroom, you eagerly take your well-lit selfie. 30 minutes of scrolling through filters later, you post it to social media. But then, as you wait for the likes to start rolling in, have you ever wondered, what does this say about me? What do any of my posts say about me? Believe it or not, our social media habits can reveal a lot about us. One research study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, looked at four studies that examined the interface between how individuals network their friendships and their attachment styles. Their findings? Our social network behavior is closely connected to our attachment style. Considering our attachment style can influence how we pick our partners, how we develop friendships, and how we end them. It's best to look at our social media habits now, all in an effort to see what it says about our attachment style, and more importantly, what it says about us. Number one, posting darker photos. NPR's Angus Chen once reported that your social media photos could suggest whether or not you're depressed. Harvard researchers Andrew G. Reese and Christopher M. Danforth wanted to test this theory. Researchers created a computer script that would examine individuals' Instagram posts. The computer script accurately assessed whether individuals were depressed. They discovered that photos posted by depressed individuals were more likely to be bluer, grayer, and darker. They also found humans aren't the best predictors of depression. When it comes to assessing whether a photo is happy or sad, human ratings of photos were found to be weaker predictors of depression and were uncorrelated with computationally generated features. Number two, deleting photos without likes. Do you post on social media often? Do you obsessively monitor the number of likes of your posts, especially your selfies? Based on a study by Penn State University, your behavior on social networks like Instagram and Facebook can tell us how old you are. A common behavior that teenagers engage in on Instagram is deleting photos that don't get enough likes. Dong-Won Lee, an associate professor of the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University, says teens want to be very popular, so they're very conscious of the likes they're getting. According to the studies, it was also shown that adults generally post photos with diversified topics in mind, while most teens post photos that reflect their current mood. Number three, over-filtering or enhancing selfies. Posting that highly edited photo of yourself may not only make others believe that's how you truly look, but your self-image of yourself may change drastically as well. A study from researchers at Australia's Letrobe University found that people who share selfies more often were reported to have significantly higher over-evaluation of shape and weight, body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, and internalization of the thin ideal. Number four, not using filters on your photos. Okay, let's say you don't use filters in your posts. What does this say about you? In the same study by Harvard researchers, Reese and Danforth, they found those who are depressed are less likely to filter their photos. It sort of makes sense because filters usually brighten up and enhance the contrast of the overall photo, which might not reflect the emotional state of the depressed individual. Number five, harsh comments and gossip. You may think throwing out a single negative comment or two on a post won't matter. I mean, will your followers really see it? Or what about that recent post where you spread a bit of gossip? A lot of people find negative comments and gossip as signs you're secretly an angry person. It shows that you're happy to spread hate about someone online for the world to see forever. Why spread hate after all? Number six, selfie after selfie. Apparently, according to research, psychopaths tend to post selfie after selfie. Say what? It might just be so. Researchers from Ohio State University found that people who posted many enhanced selfies one after another held a higher score on measures of narcissism and psychopathy. Obviously not all who post that many selfies are psychopaths, but it could also be an indication that you could have a higher than average level of antisocial traits. Not only that, according to psychologist Sarah Schweitz, PsyD. If you're posting these only me photos on social media, you might give people the impression that you're full of yourself. Seven, you notice your online friendships are disappearing. So you can't help but notice your social networks are disappearing in front of you. You're losing followers, you're not getting as many likes. Well, one reason your followers are dwindling down according to researchers may be due to attachment anxiety. Researchers hypothesized that those with attachment anxiety may often give off an overwhelming, intrusive, or demanding vibe in their posts. Yeah, that's right, I said vibe. The sad thing is those who worry about losing their connections and friends are more likely to slowly start to lose a large number of their networks according to researchers. Some may show they wanna control a certain field or hang around their friends more. In response, some people may feel intimidated by these needs and pull away without realizing it. Researchers say those with this anxiety often end up driving away the friends they wanted to make and keep so desperately. Eight, following strangers on social media. One study from researchers at Pace University found that following strangers may not always have a positive effect. The researchers state that more frequent Instagram use has negative associations for people who follow more strangers but positive associations for people who follow fewer strangers with social comparison and depressive symptoms. Number nine, posting workout photos. You should feel great about improving your health and working out at the gym. Exercising often is great in strengthening your muscles, increasing stamina, and improving your overall physical health. But one study found that sharing inspiring images of your workout body may have a negative effect. The study found that people who posted Fitspo photos scored significantly higher on the drive for thinness, bulimia, the drive for muscularity, and compulsive exercise. They also found that a fifth of the subjects were at risk for being diagnosed with a clinical eating disorder, as compared to 4.3% of the subject group that opted out of posting workout photos. And 10, lack of interaction. Have you ever heard of Instagram broadcasting? It's a behavior that's been linked to higher levels of loneliness, according to Chia Chen Yang of the University of Memphis. This behavior is marked by uploading photos without tagging someone, or often posting photos or updates that are not directed to people in your life. Interacting and socializing with others on social media is correlated with being less lonely, but if you're not socializing with others on social media often, you may feel a bit more lonely in the long run. As long as you don't get attachment to anxiety, feel free to get out there and start commenting and reaching out to the friends you wish to keep close. It is called social media, after all. So, what social media habits do you possess? What do they say about you? Share with us in the comment section below. If you found this video helpful, don't forget to click the like button and share this video on social media. What will it say about you? Probably that you're a Psych2Goer who's highly valued by the community and knows quite a few things about the world of psychology. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this. And as always, thanks for watching.