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Facebook Knows If You're Gay, Use Drugs, Or Are a Republican
Hugh Pickens writes writes "Not that there's anything wrong with that — as the Guardian reports that Facebook users are unwittingly revealing their sexual orientation, drug use and political beliefs– using only public 'like' updates. A study of 58,000 Facebook users in the US found that sensitive personal characteristics about people can be accurately inferred from information in the public domain. Researchers were able to accurately infer a Facebook user's race, IQ, sexuality, substance use, personality or political views (PDF) using only a record of the subjects and items they had 'liked' on Facebook – even if users had chosen not to reveal that information. 'It is good that people's behavior is predictable because it means Facebook can suggest very good stories on your news feed,' says Michal Kosinski, 'But what is shocking is that you can use the same data to predict your political views or your sexual orientation. This is something most people don't realize you can do.' For example, researchers were able to predict whether men were homosexual with 88% accuracy by their likes of Facebook pages such as 'Human Rights Campaign' and 'Wicked the Musical' – even if those users had not explicitly shared their sexuality on the site. According to the study other personality traits linked to predictive likes include for High IQ — 'The Godfather,' 'Lord of the Rings,' 'The Daily Show'; for Low IQ — 'Harley Davidson,' 'I Love Being A Mom,' 'Tyler Perry'; and for male heterosexuality — 'Wu Tang Clan,' 'Shaq,' and 'Being Confused after Waking Up from Naps.' Facebook's default privacy settings mean that your 'likes' are public to anyone and Facebook's own algorithms already use these likes to dictate what stories end up in users' news feeds, while advertisers can access them to determine which are the most effective ads to show you as you browse."
They have a job for you at Facebook.
Turns out, I'm gay. Even Facebook knew it before I did.
Not Intelligent, just paranoid. Kinda like posting anonymously on Slashdot.
if that "Honey-Boo-Boo like" on Facebook will lower my IQ score...
Karma: Bad
Which is why I hit the "like" button for EVERYTHING!!!!!
FYI, I wouldn't recommend drinking from that well, considering how much I piss in it.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I figure over-reliance on this sort of analysis explains why Facebook will show me ads for dating services even though it knows I'm married. I like all this geeky stuff, so obviously the advertisers assume I'm single.
That is of course one possible explanation... try again.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I left the TV on when I fell asleep, so I was confused when I woke up from my nap to discover Tyler Perry talking about The Lord of the Rings on the Daily Show. If I was that rich I would just buy a really Wicked Harley Davidson.
You and me both, I've convinced Google that I'm a gay male yoga instructor.
Also, I've been shaving since 2004.
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ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
How does gay male yoga differ from normal yoga?
Ezekiel 23:20
I wish _I_ had a risk-benefit radio :( All I have are these stoopid actuarial tables :(
"In the end, there is simply no weapon more devastating than the truth, delivered in just the right way." - tnk1
How does gay male yoga differ from normal yoga?
In male yoga we "center our beings" by being in the back row and not doing a whole lot of actual yoga.
The risk is that you'll hear Rush Limpballs; the benefit is that you can clout him with the radio. Is that it?
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
The authors of the study all liked LOTR.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
Mensa is for a special class of genius. It makes sense that that same segment would gravitate to Face Book.
And how many women on these sites are really single?
Meh. I want to know how many of them are really, you know... women.
I also regularly search for terms on terms in Qu'ranic Islam (I'm an atheist but find it interesting) and nuclear technology (I'm a physics geek and that's one of my "things".)
I hear the weather in Gitmo is great this time of year.
If it turns out that, on average, 95% of people who watch Top Gear are heterosexual and 95% of people who watch Glee are homosexual, if I like both it proves absolutely nothing about me.
Except that now we all know you are bisexual.
No left turn unstoned.
Denial?
Support Right To Repair Legislation.