The Hidden intention behind sharing

If you use the common social networks then most probably each day you come across tens if not hundreds of posts. Ever asked yourself why do you selectivity share certain posts and not others?

For an obvious post such as an article or a motivational quote the reason for sharing might be obvious but ever wondered why do you share certain jokes or pointless posts and not others? And no, boredom is not the reason.

In many of my previous articles i said that anything that is related to you can tell a lot about your personality and psychological make up. The words you use, the clothes you wear, the thoughts you have and even the posts you share can tell a lot about who you are and how do you see the world.

7 reasons you share certain posts and not others

Here are the most common psychological reasons behind sharing or re-posting:

1) Protecting your beliefs and reaffirming them: Whether its a funny post, a song or even a joke there might be a message that reaffirms one of your existing beliefs behind it. This becomes very obvious when people make jokes about the political parties they are against (see also Why do we find certain jokes funny but not others)
2) Proving your point of view right: So many people share posts that don't sound serious without realizing that they are just sharing them to support their point of view. A joke about a movie that you didn't like is a clear example of sharing something to support your own opinion
3) Showing that you are worthy : In my previous article Why do we become evangelists for the things we like i explained how we consider the things that we like an extension to our identities. In such a case sharing a movie trailer that you liked might have the purpose of proving to others that you are worthy. After all if you liked the movie then its a part of your identity and so if others liked it it would mean that you are worthy
4) Getting approval: Humans are social beings, they need a certain degree of social approval in order to function well. In many cases sharing a joke that you liked can have the hidden purpose of getting approved by others. After all if others liked your posts then you would consider yourself socially accepted (see also The psychology of sharing and re-tweeting)
5) Raising self esteem: In the Solid Self confidence program i said that one of the main reasons people make fun of others is to feel good about themselves. After all when you share a post that makes fun of someone you are actually affirming that you are unlike him.
6) Venting emotions and unmet needs: You don't need to be super smart to guess that those who post a lot about romance are either in need of a relationship or have problems with their current relationships. Many of the posts we share are just reflections of our real needs and desires
7) Assaulting people you dislike: Do you know that sometimes you share a post because you have an unconscious desire to assault a group of people you hate? This can be very obvious in posts that make fun of the followers of a certain religion

Beware of what you share

If you read the previous points carefully then most probably you have already concluded that any person who knows little about psychology can know everything about you through your posts.

For the first instance revealing who you are to others might not seem like a big issue but when you know that your weak points, the things that hurt you and the things you care about the most can also be concluded from your posts you would realize that its dangerous to let strangers get inside your head.

Yes you shouldn't have a problem telling people who you are but you should also remember that there are enemies out there disguised as friends who are waiting for any data about you in order to hurt you.

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