The Social Media You Choose Reveals How You See Yourself: The Case of Introversion-Extraversion

Personality traits, particularly introversion-extraversion, have been consistently linked to social media use. While previous research has shown that extraverted individuals tend to be more active on social networking platforms, less attention has been paid to how the choice of a specific platform may relate to self-perceived personality traits. Drawing on self-perception theory, the present study examines whether selecting a visually oriented, self-presentational platform (i.e., Instagram) is associated with higher self-reported extraversion. A total of 123 undergraduate and graduate students (71 women, 52 men; Mean Age = 22.06, SD = 4.45) completed a paper-and-pencil survey in which they reported their position on an introversion-extraversion continuum and indicated which social media platform they would choose if restricted to only one: Instagram or X/Twitter. A 2 (Gender) × 2 (Social Media) ANOVA was conducted on self-reported introversion-extraversion. Results revealed a significant main effect of Social Media, indicating that participants who chose Instagram reported higher levels of self-perceived extraversion than those who chose X/Twitter. No significant main effect of Gender was found, although descriptive analyses showed that women were more likely than men to select Instagram. Chi-square analyses confirmed a significant association between gender and platform choice, with a moderate effect size. These findings suggest that the preference for a visually oriented and self-presentational platform is associated with higher self-perceived extraversion.