A STUDY TO DECIPHER THE IMPACT OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the relationship among the personality traits of a person namely agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience, extraversion and the extent to which these people use social media. The research design used was analytical and cross-sectional in nature. It helped us to find the correlation among the factors of Big Five framework and Social media use. A questionnaire shared online was the source of primary data. Further, a regression analysis showed the extent to which the personality traits contribute to the usage of social media. The research findings highlight a strong relationship between social media usage and conscientiousness. Also, neuroticism was also positively related to social media usage indicating that more neurotic people tend to rely on social media as opposed to those who are emotionally stable. They consider social media a safe platform to be heard and express their feelings. Further in the study, a negative relationship was found between agreeableness, extraversion, openness and social media. Moreover, these do not have much influence on the social media usage, as per regression analysis. This research concluded that the traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness have the highest influence on social media among the five parameters considered.