Why people share what they share

Don’t you find social media absolutely fascinating? Why do some people share what they share?

You have the people that like to share every intricate detail of their life to the people that like to share something that they have recently read / watched. But why? Is there an explanation?

At Lab, we are obsessed with human behaviour and because of this, we have created a unique psychology model that helps us to empathise with all aspects of decision-making – the rational, the irrational and the emotional. This model is called Monkey, Lion, Dog and looks at why we do what we do. We all know that different people make different choices, but the interesting thing is when people make the same choice for different reasons.

How does this relate to social media? Alongside IBM, who have been developing a tool to analyse your personality via your Twitter feed, the Monkey Lion Dog model enables you to see why people share certain posts on social media. This is split into three categories;

Dog or emotional social posts
Emotional thinkers most pay attention to their feelings, mainly in relation to other people. Concepts associated with a person that is more ‘Dog’ include; Connection, Love, Trust, Openness, Honesty, Authenticity, Relationships, Teamwork, Loyalty and Transparency. For a Dog, sharing a social post about relationships with their friends is key.

Lion or rational social posts
Rational thinkers most pay attention to their thoughts and judgements. Concepts associated with a person that is more ‘Lion’ include; Control, Quality, Mastery, Success, Challenge, Power, Comfort, Courage, Achievement and Competence. For a Lion, posting about something which deepens knowledge, making themselves look intelligent, is important and can be seen here.

Monkey or contextual social posts
Contextual thinkers most pay attention to the outside world. Concepts associated with a person that is more ‘Monkey’ include; Recognition, Attention, Inclusion, Status / Title, Fame, Making a difference, Purpose, Responsibility and Leaving a legacy. For a Monkey, gaining recognition and being acknowledged is vital.

However, what we must remember, is that someone can be a mixture of both all three and this may differ in different circumstances! Watch out for our upcoming online test which will allow you to personally delve deeper into our Monkey Lion Dog model.