People Who Still Believe Everything They See Online Almost Always Have These 11 Personality Traits Too
The internet can be a challenging place for people who believe everything they see.
Melnikov Dmitriy / Shutterstock It can be challenging to distinguish between what is true and what is false on the Internet these days. Most social media platforms lack a filtering system that keeps disinformation from spreading. “When we encounter new information, we tend to focus on understanding it and deciding what to do next, rather than evaluating it for accuracy,” says the American Psychological Association. “It takes effort to compare new information with what we already know; when new information is false but plausible, we can learn it as fact. Several factors may increase our susceptibility to misinformation.”
When anyone can post anything they want, facts become harder to decipher. Whether they're looking at political memes, beauty tips, AI-generated images, or health advice, some people still believe everything they read online, and they tend to share some traits in common.
People who still believe everything they see online almost always have these 11 personality traits too
1. They are gullible
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Gullible people are easily duped or swayed in a certain direction. They believe what they read online with ease. They can be convinced that anything is true. If someone tells them something, they will believe it without question.
“The practical impact of gullibility is immense and may result in the distortion of personal reality and the tendency to make poor social, civic, and economic decisions, including overestimating the positive qualities of others, advocating for contrived and dubious causes, or falling for elaborate and financially untenable Ponzi schemes,” notes Bobby Hoffman, Ph.D. “In short, being gullible means trusting people and the information they share as truthful, a reluctance or inability to think logically and rationally, and relying on personal evidence that cannot be replicated or observed by others.”
2. They lack empathy
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Misinformation online can impact empathy. People who are easily convinced by what they read online may have trouble relating to other people. Let’s say they read something online that feeds into their own confirmation bias about politics. They’ll lack the empathy to understand why something can be harmful to people because it feeds into their ideology.
People who are easily convinced that everything online is true may struggle to find empathy for those outside of their social ideologies. While this isn’t the case for everyone who is easily swayed online, misinformation often changes how people can sympathize with others.
3. They are impulsive
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Impulsive people can have problematic online behavior, studies have found. When someone lacks control over their emotions or behaviors, they are quick to react. If they see something online that relates to them in any way, they’ll be quick to believe it.
Impulsivity causes people to react without giving careful thought to what they’re responding to. They are easily riled up and are the perfect targets for misinformation. They’re passionate about what they believe in. If anyone posts anything close to something they care about, they will react strongly, even if the information is untrue.
4. They are narcissistic
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When someone is narcissistic, it is easy for them to believe what they read online. Let’s say they find a controversial health take on social media. If it confirms they’re ego, they’re likely to believe it.
Maybe they see a certain food touted to have anti-aging properties that have not been confirmed by doctors or nutritionists. If they’ve always thought there was a chance this food could do such a thing, they’ll take it as fact, because believing they were right feeds their ego.
Self-esteem can be low in narcissistic people. They are constantly looking for ways to stroke their ego. If something online helps them do so, they’ll take it as fact to boost themselves up. They are also looking for ways to say, "I told you so" to people in their lives, even if they can’t confirm that what they read online is actually true.
5. They rely on their gut feelings
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When someone strongly believes in their gut feelings, anything they see online can become true. If something resonates with them at all, they’ll latch onto it because their gut tells them it’s correct.
I know I have been here. If something pulls on my heartstrings, I can be quick to believe it. However, I am well aware that fact-checking is important.
For some people, their gut feelings are enough. Those who strongly follow their intuition can be swayed easily by misinformation online.
6. They are easily manipulated
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People who are quick to believe almost everything they see online can be easily manipulated into believing things. A great example of this is misinformation on Facebook. I have family members who are easily manipulated into believing what they read online. When they share it on Facebook, my other family members will take it as fact. Since someone they know posted it, they’re more likely to believe it. Their opinions can be manipulated easily based on who is sharing what.
“The most common form of manipulation involves trying to dominate or change your frame,” says Jennice Vilhauer, Ph.D. “A frame is a perspective or belief you hold that serves as a reference point for the view you take on any situation. All judgments are made with respect to a frame of reference.”
7. They are overly open-minded
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Being open-minded is a great thing. “Being more open-minded means embracing new ideas, experiences, and perspectives. It can widen your world — even when it sometimes challenges your old ways of thinking and doing things,” writes Kendra Cherry, MSEd. “It's not just about being tolerant of opposing ideas; it's all about staying curious and adaptable in an ever-changing world. It allows you to gracefully manage relationships, make accurate decisions, and learn new things that can help you grow as a person.”
But what happens when someone is too open-minded? They can easily be convinced by what they read online. They approach everything with an almost desperate openness to understand, which can get them caught up in false information on the Internet.
8. They are highly emotional
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Politics is a prime example of how highly emotional people can be led to believe everything they see online. When something impacts the beliefs they hold close to them, they are swayed into buying into it, even if there is no evidence to back it up. If the post feeds into something that hits them in the emotions, it can make them feel like they need to believe it.
Highly emotional people are easy to manipulate, especially online. They have a hard time figuring out what is misinformation because they want to believe everything that makes them feel a certain way.
9. They are extroverted
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Those who are extroverted have no issues striking up a conversation online with just about anyone. If they begin a conversation with someone spreading misinformation, they can become influenced to believe them. To feed an extrovert's need to fill their social battery, social media can be a positive tool. However, talking to the wrong people can make them believe anything they read online.
According to a recent study by Arcadia University, extroverts do not change their behavior online. They are outgoing and interested in having a conversation, no matter what it is about. This is how they can be easily tricked into believing whatever they hear online from other people.
10. They can be paranoid
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Paranoia can easily feed into someone’s inability to read between the lines on social media. When someone is constantly on edge, they are more likely to believe what people say online. Let’s say someone is posting about how serious an unconfirmed natural disaster is expected to be. They may read that and begin prepping for what they are convinced will be the end of the world.
The Internet can be a dangerous place for people who are easily convinced that something terrible is going to happen. People who deal with delusional thoughts can find confirmation through online posts.
“A person who develops delusional thoughts may find confirmation of these thoughts online. If I believe that I am being secretly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency, I may then determine that unsolicited marketing emails are, in fact, coded messages,” says Alaina V. Burns of UCLA Health. “Conversely, the internet can serve as the source of a delusional framework. I may begin to see that celebrities on my social media feed are publishing posts that seem created just for me, leading me to believe that I have special powers. An advertisement that appears in my search engine results may have been placed there by a government agency.”
11. They are unorganized
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Someone who deals with unorganized thoughts is easily influenced online. Many studies have found that people whose thoughts roam all over the place can struggle to find right and wrong in online dialogue.
“Our minds used to wander during idle times, like riding a bus or walking,” said Zachary Irving, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Virginia. “Digital distractions are instead designed to leave us ‘stuck’ on a salient topic.”
When someone is easily distracted by the notifications they get throughout the day online, they have an easier time believing what they read. Their mind are open to taking in what they read.
Haley Van Horn is a freelance writer with a master’s degree in Humanities, living in Los Angeles. Her focus includes entertainment and lifestyle stories.
