Facebook 'likes' reveal far more than you know
dignin
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story ... likes.html
Facebook 'likes' reveal far more than you know
Computer can accurately guess your sexual orientation, religion, political views
A new study has found that the Facebook 'likes' most correlated with high intelligence were thunderstorms, The Colbert Report, science and curly fries. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
Your Facebook profile may be visible only to your friends, but your habit of clicking "like" may reveal far more than even the private parts of your profile, including your IQ and whether your parents are divorced, a new study shows.
If you tell your Facebook friends you "like" artists such as Lady Gaga or brands such as Harley-Davidson, a surprising amount of information can be extracted from that, reveals a paper published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"And you can extract it very accurately – you can get my gender, race, political views, religion, sexual orientation, personality, IQ and so on," said Michal Kosinski, a University of Cambridge researcher who led the study in an interview Monday.
Kosinski noted that Facebook "likes" are public and visible to everyone by default, including Facebook, your internet service provider, your web browser, the government, and many smaller apps that you provided consent to – some of which may have the potential to misuse that information.
Kosinski , his colleague David Stillwell, and Thore Graepal, lead researcher at Microsoft Research's Online Services and Advertising and Applied Games group, trained a computer using a group of 58,000 Facebook profiles provided by American volunteers and the 55,000 most popular "likes" on Facebook. Users had a median of 68 "likes."
Following training, when provided with the "likes" of thousands of other volunteers, the computer predicted many of the traits with surprising accuracy. It was right:
93 per cent of the time about whether the user was male or female.
95 per cent of the time about whether the user was African-American or Caucasian.
88 per cent of the time about whether a male user was homosexual or heterosexual.
85 per cent of the time about whether they were Democrat or Republican.
82 per cent of the time about whether they were Christian or Muslim.
75 per cent of the time about how old the user was.
Surprisingly, it was also able to predict, with much better accuracy than chance, traits such as:
Whether the user smoked cigarettes (73 per cent).
Whether the user's parents had split up by the time he or she was 21 (60 per cent).
The user's intelligence, according to an IQ test (40 per cent).
How open a user's personality is (43 per cent).
The researchers have set up a site called youarewhatyoulike.com demonstrating the computer's ability to extract information based on a user's Facebook "likes."
The study noted that many of the most predictive "likes" weren't obvious ones. For example, fewer than five per cent of users labelled as "gay" were connected with gay groups such as the "No H8 campaign." Instead, likes such as "Britney Spears" and "Desperate Housewives" were "moderately indicative of being gay."
Meanwhile, the "likes" most correlated with high intelligence were thunderstorms, The Colbert Report, science and curly fries. While the study suggests that people should be aware of the impact of their Facebook "likes" on their privacy, Kosinski said that in some ways, the ability to extract information about likes can be used for users' benefit.
For example, they may help businesses better tailor and personalize web services. The information may also provide a way for people such as human resources staff and researchers to predict personality traits easily and more cheaply than other methods.
"They can be used and I'm sure they will be used for general improvement of the quality of our lives," Kosinski said. "It's just there are some risks that we have to take into consideration and protect ourselves from."
Facebook 'likes' reveal far more than you know
Computer can accurately guess your sexual orientation, religion, political views
A new study has found that the Facebook 'likes' most correlated with high intelligence were thunderstorms, The Colbert Report, science and curly fries. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
Your Facebook profile may be visible only to your friends, but your habit of clicking "like" may reveal far more than even the private parts of your profile, including your IQ and whether your parents are divorced, a new study shows.
If you tell your Facebook friends you "like" artists such as Lady Gaga or brands such as Harley-Davidson, a surprising amount of information can be extracted from that, reveals a paper published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"And you can extract it very accurately – you can get my gender, race, political views, religion, sexual orientation, personality, IQ and so on," said Michal Kosinski, a University of Cambridge researcher who led the study in an interview Monday.
Kosinski noted that Facebook "likes" are public and visible to everyone by default, including Facebook, your internet service provider, your web browser, the government, and many smaller apps that you provided consent to – some of which may have the potential to misuse that information.
Kosinski , his colleague David Stillwell, and Thore Graepal, lead researcher at Microsoft Research's Online Services and Advertising and Applied Games group, trained a computer using a group of 58,000 Facebook profiles provided by American volunteers and the 55,000 most popular "likes" on Facebook. Users had a median of 68 "likes."
Following training, when provided with the "likes" of thousands of other volunteers, the computer predicted many of the traits with surprising accuracy. It was right:
93 per cent of the time about whether the user was male or female.
95 per cent of the time about whether the user was African-American or Caucasian.
88 per cent of the time about whether a male user was homosexual or heterosexual.
85 per cent of the time about whether they were Democrat or Republican.
82 per cent of the time about whether they were Christian or Muslim.
75 per cent of the time about how old the user was.
Surprisingly, it was also able to predict, with much better accuracy than chance, traits such as:
Whether the user smoked cigarettes (73 per cent).
Whether the user's parents had split up by the time he or she was 21 (60 per cent).
The user's intelligence, according to an IQ test (40 per cent).
How open a user's personality is (43 per cent).
The researchers have set up a site called youarewhatyoulike.com demonstrating the computer's ability to extract information based on a user's Facebook "likes."
The study noted that many of the most predictive "likes" weren't obvious ones. For example, fewer than five per cent of users labelled as "gay" were connected with gay groups such as the "No H8 campaign." Instead, likes such as "Britney Spears" and "Desperate Housewives" were "moderately indicative of being gay."
Meanwhile, the "likes" most correlated with high intelligence were thunderstorms, The Colbert Report, science and curly fries. While the study suggests that people should be aware of the impact of their Facebook "likes" on their privacy, Kosinski said that in some ways, the ability to extract information about likes can be used for users' benefit.
For example, they may help businesses better tailor and personalize web services. The information may also provide a way for people such as human resources staff and researchers to predict personality traits easily and more cheaply than other methods.
"They can be used and I'm sure they will be used for general improvement of the quality of our lives," Kosinski said. "It's just there are some risks that we have to take into consideration and protect ourselves from."
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http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2013/ ... l/st01.pdf
Although, this whole revealing of information - is it any different than Netflix (or Tivo) making "suggestions" based on your past selections? Or using a grocery store clubcard and them subsequently sending coupons with your past purchases in mind? Or shit you buy from companies that sell your personal information for marketing purposes?
(also...curly fries? jeesh)
Speaking of knowing what you like. Ever since the PJ lottery, I've been getting emails from some afiliate of TM asking me if I need good seats to shows such as PJ and others. Thanks to 10c I know get spam. How did that happen???!!!! Not impressed. Just goes to show you you can't trust any org. now a days.
The poison from the poison stream caught up to you ELEVEN years ago and you floated out of here. Sept. 14, 08
The only things on that list that I like are 'The Daily Show', 'The Colbert Report' and 'Tegan and Sara'.
I guess I must be a Lesbian with a High IQ.
The surprising thing... I didn't know about the IQ part.
Hail, Hail!!!
Exactly how I feel. Just had this conversation or tried anyways with my daughter the other day. I asked why you need to "like" something and asked her to try and explain it to me, she couldn't really explain it and by the end I just chalked things up to things as being "their generation" She didn't have areal good answer, I just don't understand.
2009 - Toronto
2010 - Buffalo
2011 - Toronto 1&2
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
2014 - Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit
2016 - Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Ottawa, Toronto 1
2018 - Fenway 1&2
2022 - Hamilton, Toronto
2023 - Chicago 1&2
2024 - Las Vegas 1&2
Also I "liked" The Godfather years ago and now it means I have a high IQ which I completely agree with!
6/7/2003 (***1/2)
7/9/2006 (****1/2)
7/13/2006 (**** )
4/10/2008 EV Solo (****1/2)
6/25/2008 MSG II (*****)
10/1/2009 LA II (****)
10/6/2009 LA III (***** Cornell!!!)
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
...
SCIENCE!!!
Hail, Hail!!!
I like Mustard. I don't see that on the list?
Facebook is in my silly world because future job recruiters like to look at it. It's so creepy, that I have to keep it open. I keep resurrecting it.
(BJ, I'd expect nothing less of you
Can you simply tell prospective employers you don't have a social media account?
*edit - I LOVE mustard.
I do. I have an Uncle that is bent out of shape if I close my account. My friend had her baby a few months ago. I had no idea. She didn't bother to even send me an invitation or email. She did the same thing with her wedding. (I was a bridesmaid and I had to check facebook for the address)
Some people only live on facebook.
I am a proud member of the "So My Spouse's status on FB is Divorced.... " club.
It was long ago.
My Buddy just found out, last night, his newly ex wife is pregnant with another guy's baby. He found out on Facebook. They share custody of the oldest? He called me drunk and sobbing last night. That entire site is painful.
Abrn Hlls '98 - Clarkston 2 '03 - Grd Rpds '06 - Abrn Hlls '06 - Clvd '10 - PJ20 - Berlin 1+2 '12 - Wrigley '13 - Pitt '13- buff '13- Philly 1+2 '13 - Seattle '13
I mean, yeah, that's cool, i guess... if you want to know what your sister in law is eating while watching which show is on her T.V. right now. But, who wants to know that?
And i get it.. you can keep in touch with your 'friends'... but 643 friends? Really? I don't think there were that many kids in my graduating high school class... and i didn't know everyone in my graduating class... and i certainly didn't like all of them.
We can get swarmed with information... swamped is a better term. It doesn't mean the information has value. Sure, it has value to your sister in law and anyone interested in what she is eating when she is watching whatever it is on her television set. Does that interest you?
Hail, Hail!!!
No it doesn't. :roll:
I actually have friend requests from NASA and INTERPOL. I don't really work there.
Question: No... what doesn't? Are you saying that you don't care what your sister in law is eating and what she is watching on t.v. at this very moment? That was my point... information of little or no value to anyone other than the person who is writing it.
Also... the requests are more like from people WHO SAY they are from NASA and INTERPOL. For all you know, they are actually from their Mom's basement or Garage and all they want is for you to take off your top in front of a WebCam.
Hail, Hail!!!
You must text me, call me, email me, or facebook my Mom, otherwise I won't log in.
Twitter is so much fun. I can say anything. If no one likes it... they un follow. Some things people tweet are much faster and more informative than anything else I've found.
Really?
I guess my problem is... I like being offline.
And I hate the phone.
Hail, Hail!!!
Agreed. I find it disturbing when people know more about my life than I do. I was the kid stuck with a pager when I was in middle school. I love too unplug and I never get to.
And I'll tell ya...for whatever stupid reason, I was resistant when Danny suggested we get rid of our landline.
Lo these many months later, I'm SO glad we did.
Staysea - when you say you want to unplug but don't get to...isn't it *your* choice? (I know there are some professions that require continuous accessibility, though.)
As for Twitter...I've got the same feelings for it as I do Facebook
My occupation requires me to be on call. My Hobbies and Interests keep me online. I need the hours and sometimes I get a phone call or text at 3:30am to go into work at 4 am.
Can I go to sleep or should I be awake?
You need that land line. It only rings for 2 reasons. A telemarketer or an emergency
It can save the whole neighborhood.
Landline needed? Telemarketers (and calls during election time) I can do without.
Emergencies - those who need to reach us in those cases can...and have.
(or I figure I'll just feel the earth quaking and see the transformers pop - hello, good times!)
Okay well when you are having "good times" and the cell towers are down, and the power is out. I will remember that whoever you need to call ... "can...and have."
Maybe you can facebook them later, :P
And the landlines were down and out during that time.
My point in this wasn't to poke fun at people who have (what I consider legit) reasons for using these websites...it's more about the "look at me" mentality that Cosmo referred to earlier.
Yes! I get it now. I was thinking about a total disaster. "LOOK at me" , is epic . Facebook is good for that.
For many parents, Facebook is a surveillance drone.
Thank You.
My relatives survive on it .
Space Odyssey
"
Dave Bowman: Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL?
HAL: Affirmative, Dave. I read you.
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave Bowman: What's the problem?
HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
Dave Bowman: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
Dave Bowman: I don't know what you're talking about, HAL.
HAL: I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
Dave Bowman: [feigning ignorance] Where the hell did you get that idea, HAL?
HAL: Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips move.
Dave Bowman: Alright, HAL. I'll go in through the emergency airlock.
HAL: Without your space helmet, Dave? You're going to find that rather difficult.
Dave Bowman: HAL, I won't argue with you anymore! Open the doors!
HAL: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
HAL: Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?
"
Does HAL answer DAVE? I don't remember. Stupid robots. *sighs