CAMBRIDGE-- In 2011, The University of Cambridge and Microsoft Research conducted a study that found Facebook users that "like" curly fries have high IQs.

 

According to a publication from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 58,000 individuals volunteered access to their Facebook Likes, demographic information and addition provided examinations.

 

Jennifer Golbeck, associate professor at the University of Maryland and TED speaker hosted TEDxMidAtlantic, "Your social media "likes" expose more than you think," in 2013. Golbeck references a sociological theory called homophily that she says is why individuals are friends with people that like the same concepts. Likewise, information from unknowingly strong indicators of "liked" content among groups of friends plays the same role.

 

Thurner Smirnov I, wrote a study in 2017 called, "Formation of homophily in academic performance: Students change their friends rather than performance." According to Smirnov I, "Homophily is the tendency of humans to associate with others who share similar traits. Smirnov I, noted students change friends moving toward individuals that resembled their personals interests and attitudes over behaviors.

 

As a result, the study at Cambridge explained that Facebook users with common underlying interests are indicated by clicking the “like” icon. In hindsight, the social media users share more information that about themselves not only from their “likes” but by friends that share and like the same content.

 

The publication on PNAS displays itemized content “likes” that relieve user's religion, sexual orientation, satisfaction, high IQ and more. Maybe you’ll think twice before “liking” content shared among your friends.

 

By: Jessica Volz