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Are You a Psychopath if You’re Not on Facebook?

From Mashable.com:

There are more than 955 million Facebook users, and it could hurt you to not be one of them.

Some psychiatrists and employers now find it suspicious for an individual to keep off Facebook, reports The Daily Mail. That’s because for today’s young generation, having Facebook is considered “normal,” while opting out is considered “abnormal.”

Employers may suspect that an applicant’s absence from the social network means the account is so full of offensive material that it had to be deleted. After all, 90% of recruiters check out candidates’ online profiles.

Similarly, psychologists see Facebook activity as a reflection of a healthy social life.

“The Internet has become a natural part of life,” psychologist Christopher Moeller told Germany’s Der Taggspiegel. “It’s possible that you get feelings of positive feedback through online friends.” [Translated from German]

In excess, Moeller says, Facebook interactions can reinforce feelings of social anxiety experienced offline.

As the German magazine points out, both suspected Aurora theater gunman James Holmes and the Norwegian massacre shooter Anders Behring Breivik share an absence from Facebook. The publication went as far as to say that Facebook abstainers have reason to be suspected mass murderers.

The two shooters had online footprints on more obscure social networks — Breivik on MySpace and Holmes on Adult Friend Finder.

Do you find it suspicious when you meet someone who’s not on Facebook? Do you think being active on Facebook reflects a healthy social life?

3 thoughts on “Are You a Psychopath if You’re Not on Facebook?

  1. Well, I don’t have a Facebook account, except one under a pseudonym for coupons, online commenting and the like. FB just doesn’t appeal much to me. But I have an active Twitter account, LinkedIn, a blog and WordPress. Does that make me a half-psycho?

  2. So a single mom who’s focused on her work 8-10 hours a day and her children the rest of it now has to make room for “a healthy social life” online or risk being judged by strangers? Not good, folks.

  3. Consider the source of the article…………The Daily Mail (ie: National Enquirer). It might be more credible if it was Wall Street Journal (or other reputable media) and there were citations for where they got their information

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