(ThyBlackMan.com) According to CNN, the average American spends nearly over half a day staring at a screen whether it be a phone, computer, TV or tablet.
Our habits define us. But how true is this for our digital habits? Are we the same online as offline? In the early days of the internet, it was probably safe to assume that our online behaviors did not reveal much about our real-world personas. This notion was popularized by the “on the internet, nobody knows you’re dog” caption of a famous New Yorker cartoon.
Like in reality TV shows, it is harder to fake it online when you are being observed for a longer period of time. Conversely, deliberate deception and impression management are relatively 
straightforward during short-term interactions, such as job interviews, first dates and dinner parties. We all have a window for displaying the bright side of our personality and adhering to social etiquette, but what happens when a great portion of our lives is being broadcasted?
Although we are more than the history of our browser, it is feasible that our web searches and web page visits, emails and social network activity contain traces of our personality. Prior to the digital age, our identity, style and values were mainly revealed by our material possessions, which psychologists described as our extended self. But human inferences were required to translate these signals into a personality profile.
A great deal of scientific research has highlighted the portability of our real selves to the digital world. The common theme of these studies is that, although the internet may have provided an escapism from everyday life, it is mostly mimicking it.
Most notably, our typical patterns of social media activity can be accurately predicted by scores on scientifically valid personality tests. For instance, studies show that Facebook “likes” reflect how extroverted, intellectual and prudent we are. Watching tweets reveals how extroverted and emotionally stable people are. This can be done by analyzing the content of tweets (personality predicts what words you are more likely to use) as well as the number of tweets and follower’s people have. Twitter can also be used to infer dark side personality characteristics, such as how psychopathic or narcissistic people are.
In addition, studies indicate that our media preferences and online purchases also reflect elements of our personality. Thus computer generated algorithms may not just predict what you will watch on Netflix, listen to on Spotify, or buy on Amazon the may also explain why. Our own research has highlighted many associations between personality and both reported and actual artistic and musical preferences. Unsurprisingly, research has also identified a connection between online porn consumption and impulsive/obsessional personality features.
William James, the father of American psychology, once suggested that we have as many personalities as the number of situations we are in. Although our digital identity may be fragmented, it seems clear that our various online personas are all digital breadcrumbs of the same persona; different symptoms of our same core self.
Businesses will clearly benefit from leveraging this data and the corresponding algorithms for making sense of it. To the degree that they can overcome ethical and legal barriers – presumably by enabling consumers to opt in in a conscious and transparent way – they will be able to move beyond programmatic marketing tools that predict future behaviors to deeper psychological tools that can explain and understand it. This may not only enable them to personalize and curate products and services more effectively, but also educate individuals about their own personality and perhaps even help them become smarter and happier consumers.
Staff Writer; Amber Ogden
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