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People Who Post About Doing Exercise On Facebook Often Have Serious Psychological Problems

And people who post about their romantic successes are often miserable, too

People who post about their exercise routines may not be as happy as they claim
People who post about their exercise routines may not be as happy as they claim



Facebook posts detailing people’s ‘personal bests’ at running are among the biggest annoyances on the social network - up there with baby photos.

But it turns out that people who post obsessively about their healthy meals and exercise are often narcissists - a personality trait where people ‘need’ attention.

People who posted frequently about their romantic partner often had low self-esteem, according to the Brunel University researchers, who surveyed 555 Facebook users.

The researchers wrote, ‘Narcissists also wrote more status updates about their diet and exercise routine, suggesting that they use Facebook to broadcast the effort they put into their physical appearance.’

The researchers found that people often ‘Liked’ and responded to such posts - delivering the attention that the narcissistic posters craved.

Psychology lecturer Dr Tara Marshall, from Brunel University London, said: “Although our results suggest that narcissists’ bragging pays off because they receive more likes and comments to their status updates, it could be that their Facebook friends politely offer support while secretly disliking such egotistical displays.

‘Greater awareness of how one’s status updates might be perceived by friends could help people to avoid topics that annoy more than they entertain.’