How Introverts and Extroverts Use Social Media Differently

We’re taking a deep dive into the social media behavioral differences of extroverts and introverts – terms coined by the famous psychologist Carl Jung. We have enormous gains to be made from this insight – not only in terms of identifying target audiences and increasing click-through rates but also in simply understanding our fellow humans better. 

Extroverts love to connect with others. They manage to do this in a multitude of ways over social media. They chat with locals over video-sharing apps with the hope of making new online or real-life friends close by, and are energized by engagement over all social platforms. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how they use them.

What is an Extrovert? 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an extrovert is someone who is a “gregarious and unreserved person who enjoys and seeks out social interaction”. WebMD identifies extroverts as those who are “characterized by expressive and outgoing patterns of behavior”. 

Extroverts are known for their outgoing natures, tend to be talkative, and usually have large social circles. They gain energy from engaging with people – whether that’s in person (first prize for them) or over social media. 

Most people have come across textbook extroverts at least once or twice. It’s usually the person who speaks up a lot at work, the person dancing with strangers at a party, or that family member who seems to never stop talking – usually about their most recent social adventure. 

How do Extroverts Use Social Media 

Research indicates that extroverts have a larger number of friends or connections on social platforms, and use them much more often than others. Specifically, they tend to use social media as more of a communication tool – engaging in direct-messaging chats and commenting on friends’ posts – and do this much more frequently than ambiverts and introverts. 

Extroverts tend to post more selfies, music, and personalized posts than others. They love the interaction, and exchanging personal stories, and many enjoy the feeling of validation or a sense of belonging they achieve when they receive likes, followers, and new connections. 

What is an Introvert? 

Introversion is a personality type that prioritizes time alone and gains energy from this. Quiet, self-aware, and introspective, introverts usually have a small, tight-knit group of friends and enjoy intellectual activities. Sometimes, introverts feel anxious around large groups of people, and many prefer nights in to nights out.

Sadly, the current world society we live in often values introverts less than extroverts. Some people misunderstand introverts’ behavior, thinking they are pretentious when this is rarely the case. There are many wonderfully friendly introverts who simply have slightly different lifestyle preferences from extroverts. 

How Do Introverts Use Social Media 

Introverts use social media to keep up with friends and news, with much less engagement and communication than extroverts – in other words, they spend time scrolling, rather than messaging and commenting, for the most part. They like reposting articles and sharing news stories, rather than exhibiting any information about themselves. 

They aren’t using social media for likes or validation – but rather to keep abreast of current events, for entertainment value, and for staying in touch with close friends. 

Facebook is often the platform of choice for introverts, as they can observe, be entertained, connect with friends, and not necessarily need to share too much about themselves. 

How could businesses leverage this information? 

A key piece in the puzzle from a marketing angle is what content appeals to what kind of people. Marketers will first need ways to identify extroverts and introverts online. This could be done by seeing the kinds of groups and events people are interested in. 

For example, those attending lots of parties, with large numbers of friends, and with scarce privacy settings are usually extroverts. Marketers can appeal to them through questions about themselves, and campaigns that involve plenty of personal sharing and engagement with others. These extroverts would then be the target audience for products in the events industry, for example. 

Introverts can be found through news channels, small groups, tighter privacy settings, and (usually) smaller numbers of friends. Marketers can appeal to them through intellectually stimulating content and will find them the perfect target audience for home entertainment products, for example. 

Lifestyle habits are crucial for market research, and understanding introvert and extrovert behavior – both in a general sense and increasingly importantly, online – is an enormous part of this. This information also proves extremely useful in real-life business interactions on a larger scale – whether finding new clients, partnering with other companies, building your best team, or supporting members of staff in the most effective way.